China unswayed by global market turmoil

Against a backdrop of deepening global financial turmoil, the Chinese government remains committed to its long-term course of market-oriented reforms. In his opening remarks at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2008 last month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said that the unfolding international financial crisis underscored how important it was for China to balance growth with employment creation and environmental protection. “We must ensure sustainable growth in our economy,” he noted. Wen advised the business leaders of the New Champion companies – fast-growing global enterprises from more than 90 countries – to embrace innovation. At the same meeting Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-chairman of the People’s Republic of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said: “The current financial crisis allows us to learn how to regulate the modern financial system.” “Although we are facing difficult obstacles, China can still play an important role in the global economy,” added Cheng Siwei, president of the China Association for Soft Science Studies. In a plenary session, he called for authorities to encourage investment, domestic consumption and exports in order to keep the economic growth rate between 8 and 10%. “Now the challenge is to keep the balance between economic growth and inflation,” he said.