The 2022 World Economic Development Forum is held in Beijing

On March 8, the 2022 World Economic Development Forum was held in Beijing during the annual sessions of China’s top legislative and political advisory body. The event was organized by the China International Communications Group (CICG) and the Foresight and Innovation Foundation (also known as the Foresight and Innovation Foundation), and co-organized by the CICG Center for Europe and Asia ( China Pictorial Publications) and the Academy of Contemporary China and Global Studies.

Keynote speakers at the forum included Du Zhanyuan, President of CICG; Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister and President of the Fondation Prospective et Innovation based in France; Zhu Min, vice president of the China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy and former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Lv Benfu, vice president of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS); Zhou Hong, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), Vice President of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and Director of the Academic Division of International Studies at the Chinese Academy social sciences (CASS); and Zhou Yanli, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former vice chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. Nearly 20 former political leaders, renowned experts and scholars from China, France, Russia, India, South Korea, Brazil and other countries held in-depth discussions on the theme “Revitalizing Global Development in bridging the development gap” during the forum.

In his opening speech, Du Zhanyuan, Chairman of the CICG, said that the ups and downs of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasingly evident negative impacts of the Ukraine crisis on the global economy have added more uncertainty to the global economic recovery. He pointed out that the Chinese economy has remained robust despite various risks and challenges, injecting great momentum into the global economic recovery. Currently, COVID-19 remains the main factor holding back the global economic recovery. The international community must work together to defeat the pandemic. And the immediate priority should be to maintain peace and security. China advocates promoting the implementation of global development initiatives to push global development to a new stage of balance, coordination and inclusiveness.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister and President of the France-based Fondation Prospective et Innovation, noted that global governance faces many challenges and that the ideas that “we share the same planet” and “the earth is our common home” have become the consensus of all mankind. Therefore, the best way to protect human beings is to protect the earth. Among the efforts, responses to climate change have attracted global attention, which unites all countries. China played an important role in the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Faced with a constantly changing world, the peoples of all countries yearn for peace and development. Essentially, peace is a common vision that can only be achieved through joint efforts and hard work.

Zhu Min, vice president of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said that according to the Chinese government work report, the country has set its goal of GDP growth at around 5.5% for 2022, which is expected to play an important role in promoting the recovery of the global economy. To achieve this goal, the Chinese government must show great political courage and great responsibility, especially in today’s complicated international environment. China would like to see more countries share market opportunities and achieve common development by further strengthening international cooperation, expanding domestic demand, deepening opening-up and improving business environment to attract more foreign investment. .

Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of CICG, presided over the opening ceremony of the forum. He noted that the global development situation is becoming increasingly complex with urgent needs to find solutions to cure COVID-19, revive the global economy, close the development gap and achieve balanced global development. Facing a series of challenges, the Chinese economy has remained robust and resilient, with its growth rate leading the world’s major economies. China has emerged as a major driver of global economic growth amid the pandemic.

Lv Benfu, vice president of China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and professor at UCAS School of Economics and Management, said the boost of digital economy for the China’s economic progress is evidenced by the expansion of information infrastructure, the reduction of commodity circulation costs, reconstruction of manufacturing industries, etc. Globally, the digital economy will also play an increasingly important role. At the same time, it may lead to new challenges such as the digital divide, cross-border data flows and global digital governance that require urgent global solutions.

Zhou Hong, a member of the NPC’s foreign affairs committee, vice president of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and director of the Academic Division of International Studies at CASS, said that as the understanding of the conditions and factors of development deepens, the improvement of governance models and the strengthening of environmental protection become even more crucial for development. Practice has shown that mutual benefits under South-South cooperation and connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative play a major role in promoting development.

Zhou Yanli, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and former vice president of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, noted that the digital economy has become China’s national development strategy, and the scale of data in areas such as government affairs, Internet usage and industry has maintained rapid growth. The next step should be to seize the new opportunities of digital industrialization and industrial digitization, use digital technology to empower finance and serve the real economy, and accelerate the high-quality development of Digital Economy.

Alexander V. Lomanov, deputy director of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed out that China’s development experience can offer many inspirations to the community. international. China is committed to making economic stability the top priority and pursuing progress while maintaining stability in 2022, sending an important signal to the world.

Mohammed Saqib, an Indian economist and Secretary General of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council, said that with de-globalization impacting global growth and the flow of capital and technology, India will need to strengthen its economy by itself. even, which seems a very difficult task at the moment.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China & Brazil Center: Research and Business (CCB), pointed out that to reduce social inequalities, developing countries should implement more specific actions with the help of developed countries. For example, they should implement infrastructure projects and actions to maximize production and supply chains, the main objective of which should be production innovation and the training of new professionals.

At the forum, scholars and experts, including Lv Benfu, Vice President of China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy and Professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Lee Hee Ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of Chinese Studies at Sungkyunkwan University; Liu Xinghua, Director of the China Center for Economics and Finance at the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy and Distinguished Professor at Tongji University, and Youn Bo Ra, Deputy Director General of the Korea Agency trade and investment promotion. Feng Wei, vice president of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, and Yu Yunquan, president of the Academy of Contemporary China and Global Studies, jointly chaired the forum’s roundtable. Jiang Yonggang, President of the CICG Center for Europe and Asia, gave the closing speech of the forum.