Fostering a New Development Paradigm and Pursuing Mutual Benefit and Win-win Cooperation

　　BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday  delivered a keynote speech via video at the APEC CEO Dialogues.

　　Fostering a New Development Paradigm and 

Pursuing Mutual Benefit and Win-win Cooperation

　　Keynote Address by H.E. Xi Jinping

　　President of the People’s Republic of China

　　At the APEC CEO Dialogues

　　19 November 2020

　　Leaders of the Business Community,

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　Dear Friends,

　　At a critical time when the world is fighting COVID-19 and exploring  ways to achieve economic recovery, I am glad to have this dialogue with  you through video links.

　　This is an unusual time in history for us humanity. The COVID-19  pandemic has accelerated changes unseen in a century in the world. The  global economy finds itself into deep recession, its industrial and  supply chains are disrupted, and governance, trust, development and  peace deficits continue to grow. Mounting unilateralism, protectionism  and bullying as well as backlash against economic globalization have  added to risks and uncertainties in the world economy.

　　However, peace and development remain the underlying trend of our  times. Meeting challenges through cooperation is the only way forward  for us in the international community. This pandemic once again shows  that the interests of all countries are closely interwoven and that  humankind shares a common stake. Indeed, our world is an indivisible  community with a shared future. To beat the virus and promote global  recovery, we in the international community must close ranks and jointly  respond to this crisis and meet the test. All countries should act in  the spirit of partnership and get through this tough time together. We  need to step up policy communication and coordination, intensify  all-round global cooperation against COVID-19 and keep global economy  open. By doing so, we can defeat the virus at an early date and achieve  robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth for all.

　　Since the start of this year, facing the sudden onslaught of  COVID-19, China has put people and life above everything else. The 1.4  billion Chinese people, united as one, have made a major strategic  achievement in fighting the virus. We have endeavored to both contain  the virus and speedily bring production and life back to normal, thus  maintaining economic and social development. China’s economy resumed  positive overall growth in the first three quarters this year. This  hard-won achievement speaks volumes about the resilience and vitality of  the Chinese economy. The fundamentals sustaining China’s steady and  long-term economic growth remain unchanged. We have full confidence and  ability to maintain stable economic performance and achieve the goals of  finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all  respects and eradicating poverty within the set time frame.

　　At its recently concluded Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central  Committee, the Communist Party of China deliberated on and adopted the  recommendations for formulating China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. According  to the recommendations, China will complete building a moderately  prosperous society in all respects within the set time frame. From next  year on, China will embark on a new journey toward fully building a  modern socialist country. We will develop a full understanding of the  new development stage, and apply the new development philosophy. We will  foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the  mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each  other. The new development paradigm is a strategic decision we have made  based on the current stage and conditions of development in China and  with full consideration given to economic globalization and changes in  the external environment.

　　First, we will expand domestic demand as a strategic priority and ensure smooth flow of economic activity.  In recent years, China’s development model of reliance on foreign  markets and resources has gone through some gradual changes. The ratio  of foreign trade to GDP dropped from 67 percent in 2006 to less than 32  percent in 2019, while the ratio of current account surplus to GDP has  come down from 9.9 percent in 2007 to less than one percent today. In  seven years since the 2008 global financial crisis, the contribution of  China’s domestic demand to GDP exceeded 100 percent, making domestic  consumption the main driver of its growth. In promoting domestic and  international circulations, the Chinese economy has become much more  domestically driven and the performance of China’s development has been  significantly enhanced. Fostering a new development paradigm will enable  China to better adjust its economic structure and achieve high-quality  development. China will continue to deepen supply-side structural  reforms and further expand domestic demand. Doing so will make  production, distribution, flow of goods and services, and consumption in  China more based on domestic market, and it will make the supply system  better adapt to domestic demand. This will usher in a higher stage of  well-adjusted balance where demand drives supply and supply, in turn,  creates demand.

　　Second, we will vigorously make scientific and technological innovations to foster new growth drivers.  A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation  is gathering pace, and science and technology are playing an even more  significant role in boosting social productivity. To China, innovation  has always been the primary driver of development, and we have made  major achievements by implementing an innovation-driven development  strategy. As China enters a new stage of development, factors of  production underpinning its development have gone through profound  changes. This means that China must pursue innovation to achieve  high-quality growth driven by domestic demand. We will fully leverage  the demand of our super-sized domestic market and the strengths of its  complete industrial system and redouble efforts to turn research  outcomes into real productivity. We will endeavor to build an innovation  system that integrates science and technology, education, industries  and the financial sector, and upgrade the industrial chains. This will  sustain China’s long-term economic development.

　　Third, we will continue to deepen reform and energize the market.  What we have achieved during the past 40-plus years of China’s reform  and opening-up shows one thing: Reform is crucial for unleashing and  boosting productivity. China has entered a new stage of development and  faces new tasks of reform. We will take more steps and remove with  greater resolve deep-seated systemic and institutional barriers to  modernize China’s governance system and capacity. We will enhance our  ability to better apply the new development philosophy, namely, one of  pursuing innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. We  will transform the growth model, upgrade quality and performance, and  make growth drivers more robust. We will accelerate the building of a  modernized economy, strengthen protection of property and intellectual  property rights, set up a high-standard market system and improve  mechanisms for fair competition. All this will fully motivate all types  of market entities.

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　Friends,

　　Openness enables a country to move forward, while seclusion holds it  back. In today’s world where economic globalization has become an  irreversible trend, no country can develop itself by keeping its doors  closed. China is already deeply integrated into the global economy and  the international system. We will not reverse course or run against  historical trend by “decoupling” or forming a small circle to keep  others out. By fostering a new development paradigm, we are not pursuing  a closed-door circulation, but open and mutually reinforcing domestic  and international circulations.

　　— The new development paradigm will enable China to fully  unlock its market potential and create greater demand for other  countries. China’s per capita GDP has topped US$10,000, and its  middle-income population has exceeded 400 million. It is projected by  many international institutions that China’s retail market will reach  six trillion dollars in size this year. As China’s economy grows, our  people naturally want to lead an even better life. This will create more  demand for a greater variety of quality products, technologies and  services from across the world. Despite the damage inflicted by  COVID-19, China’s import of goods has basically recovered to the level  of last year. The China International Fair for Trade in Services held in  Beijing this September brought together 22,000 companies from 148  countries and regions to its online and off line events. Not long ago,  the third China International Import Expo was successfully held in  Shanghai. It was participated by companies from 124 countries and  regions. The exhibition area was further expanded. More deals were  sealed, reaching US$72.62 billion in value. China will further cut  tariffs and government instituted transaction costs, and open a number  of demonstration zones for creative promotion of import trade to  increase import of quality goods and services. I am confident that the  steady unleashing of the China market potential will create vast  business possibilities for other countries, and this will create  stronger impetus for maintaining stable growth of the global economy.

　　— The new development paradigm will enable China to open up  wider and share more opportunities for common development with other  countries. China is committed to opening-up, which is its  fundamental policy, a policy that will not change at any time. The world  economy has faced more instability and uncertainty this year.  Protectionism and unilateralism are mounting. Yet China has not stalled  in its pursuit of opening-up. As a matter of fact, we have taken many  policy steps to open the country still wider. It includes the following:  The Foreign Investment Law and its supporting rules and regulations  have been fully implemented. The negative list for foreign investment  has been further cut. Access to the financial market has been steadily  eased. A master plan has been drawn up for the development of the Hainan  Free Trade Port. Reform and opening-up in Shenzhen and Pudong have been  further advanced. And more pilot programs have been conducted for  creative promotion of trade in services.

　　I wish to reiterate that China’s commitment to opening-up is strong,  and that China will open its door still wider to the world. China will  continue to advance trade and investment liberalization and  facilitation, to conclude, through negotiation, high-standard free trade  agreements with more countries, and to actively engage in bilateral,  multilateral and regional mechanisms for trade and investment  cooperation. The purpose is to build a higher-standard open economy in  China. China will improve its system for foreign investment management  based on pre-establishment national treatment and negative list. The  lawful rights and interests of foreign investors will be protected.  China will open up the service sector in a well-planned way, and foster a  market-oriented, world-class business environment underpinned by a  sound legal framework. China will give its pilot free trade zones  greater power in carrying out reform, and turn them into new pacesetters  of opening-up. At the same time, China will continue to firmly support  the multilateral trading system, get more actively involved in reforming  the system of global economic governance, and play its part to make  this system fairer and more equitable.

　　— The new development paradigm will enable China to continue to deepen international cooperation for shared benefits.  China will take a more active part in the international division of  labor, get more effectively integrated into global industrial, supply  and value chains, and more enthusiastically expand exchanges and  cooperation with other countries. We welcome cooperation with every  other region, country, or company that wants to do so. China will remain  committed to openness and cooperation, and adhere to multilateralism  and the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and  shared benefits. China will work to pursue high-quality Belt and Road  cooperation with its partners, and seek greater complementarity between  the development strategies and connectivity plans of regions and  countries concerned. China will further harmonize policies, rules and  standards with BRI partners, and deepen effective cooperation with them  on infrastructure, industry, trade, scientific and technological  innovation, public health and people-to-people exchange. Together, we  will make the Belt and Road a model of cooperation, health, recovery and  growth and deepen cooperation on green development. This will allow us  to contribute to common development and the building of a community with  a shared future for mankind.

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　Friends,

　　The Asia-Pacific is our shared home. To sustain peace, stability,  development and prosperity in the region meets the interests of us all.  As Asia-Pacific economies are connected by the same ocean, we benefit  from close interactions between our peoples and geographic proximity. We  should follow market trends, seize opportunities created by economic  globalization and regional economic integration and become forerunners  driving global growth. The development of the Asia-Pacific and greater  economic cooperation in our region represent an underlying historical  trend, and such development and cooperation will continue to be imbued  with strong vitality, because they respond to the call of the people in  our region.

　　Last year, I proposed building an Asia-Pacific community with a  shared future featuring openness, inclusiveness, innovation-driven  growth, greater connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation. This  year, thanks to participation of all economies concerned, the APEC  Post-2020 Vision has been formulated, which sets out ambitious goals and  important guidelines for our future cooperation. Let us not forget that  we are a community with a common stake, and let us move toward closer  regional economic integration. We need to accelerate innovation-driven  growth, enhance regional connectivity, and realize inclusive and  sustainable development. Step by step, we can surely turn our vision  into reality and deliver a better life for people in the region.

　　The Asia-Pacific business community is an engine driving economic  growth. You have witnessed development and cooperation in our region;  and indeed, you have contributed to it every step on the way. You have  an important role to play in shaping the future of our region, and there  is no doubt you will benefit from its development. Asia-Pacific  cooperation has entered a new historical stage at a time when the world  is facing multiple challenges. The business community needs a broader  vision, greater resilience and stronger entrepreneurship. With them, I  am sure you will create greater prospects for business development. I hope you will contribute your share to promoting openness and development. You  may work to advance trade and investment liberalization and  facilitation, and ensure the security and stability of industrial and  supply chains of our region; and your work will enable the Asia-Pacific  to take the lead in achieving economic recovery and prosperity. I hope you will explore innovation-driven growth.  You may take bold steps to pursue organizational, technological and  market innovations; that will make the Asia-Pacific a fertile ground for  scientific breakthroughs and a pacesetter for innovation. I hope you will be partners for achieving win-win cooperation.  You may tap fully into the potential for cooperation, and make the pie  of cooperation even bigger for all our people to benefit from. I hope you will actively fulfill your social responsibilities.  You may all play active parts in the international fight against  COVID-19 and do more to help disadvantaged groups to add more momentum  to global development.

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　Dear Friends,

　　The day will come when we finally beat COVID-19 and win victory in  this fight. Let us work in solidarity and weather the storm together.  Let us stay true to openness and cooperation and make development and  circulations at home and overseas reinforce each other. Together, we can  surely deliver a brighter future for all of us, both here in the  Asia-Pacific and across the world!