Some of top global bankers and economists sit with China's economic policy makers face to face here Tuesday, discussing suggestions on the country's development strategy for the next five years.
Some of top global bankers and economists sit with China's economic policy makers face to face here Tuesday, discussing suggestions on the country's development strategy for the next five years.
It is the first time that China invites international expertise to advise on goals and policies of its key Five-year Plan, according to officials and experts attending an international seminar hold by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
They said it was very important for China to consider its development strategy more from a global perspective as China has been increasingly incorporated with the world economy.
China has started the work on formulating the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015), said Xu Xianping, vice minister of the NDRC, the country's top economic planning body.
The seminar invited distinguished thinkers from near and afar to focus discussions on how China's 12th Five-year Plan can be designed to rebalance economy, environmental and social performance, and to reflect a global perspective, said C. Lawrence Greenwood, vice president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), co-sponsor of the seminar.
"One Chinese thinker of the past said 'Rocks from other mountains may be used to carve jade'," Greenwood said. The old saying means one can correct his own defects by learning from advice or experiences of others.
"China is already a major developing country with a very high degree of openness, and is closely linked to the global economy." said Li Shantong, a senior researcher with the Development Research Center of the Chinese State Council, or the cabinet.
Li said the development of China was no longer just affected by domestic factors, but also by factors from outside world.
The new five-year plan, regarded by many experts as needing more thorough considerations as both domestic and global environments have become more "complicated", would be critical for China to realize a sustainable growth of economy.
Experts say after 30 years of fast growth, the country badly needs to make substantial progress in shifting its development pattern by improving policies and deepening reforms.
"Readjustment should be a key word of China's 12th Five-year Plan," said Wang Jian, vice president of China Society of Macroeconomics. He said the country must address many challenges such as overcapacity, economic restructuring, and further expansion of domestic consumption.
Dwight Perkins, a Harvard University professor, told the seminar that China should further facilitate the role household consumption plays in GDP growth by raising per capita income and encouraging more spending rather than saving.
Perkins said China was also faced with the daunting challenge in the coming 20 years of solving housing problems for as many as 200 million rural migrant workers in cities.
A green path of development should also be the highlight in the new five-year plan, Greenwood said, noting that low-carbon economy has become a key development area globally.
He said China's future prosperity would be closely linked to the level of green economy and how it would deal with climate change issues.
China's future development plans should also focus on shared prosperity, the gap between the rich and poor, and balanced economic development, he said.
Subinay Nandy, Country Director in China of the United Nations Development Programme, said the seminar was a big improvement in China's decision-making mechanism, which was more open and transparent.
"The openness is helpful both way," Nandy said, adding that not only China can learn from advice of international agencies and think tanks, more and more developing country can also learn from China's growth model.