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Further growth faces challenges
(Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2006-01-27 08:46
When 皇冠体育app joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) four years ago, it feared the 鈥渨olf鈥� had come 鈥� foreign investors ready to eat up its economy. A year later, 皇冠体育app and the wolf were dancing together. Now, they鈥檙e married, but a senior Bank of 皇冠体育app executive said this does not mean the marriage will last forever in bliss.
Zhu Min, the State-owned bank鈥檚 executive assistant president, noted that 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce and what happens in the future will depend on how 皇冠体育app and foreign investors cooperate in meeting difficult challenges, especially in the newly opened financial sector.
鈥淲hen we joined the WTO, we always talked about the wolf has come, we鈥檙e scared to death,鈥� Zhu said Wednesday. 鈥淎 year later, we talked about dancing with the wolf ... Now we marry ... the wolf鈥� and the situation is very different.
皇冠体育app鈥檚 booming economy and prospects for investment were high on the first day鈥檚 agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland the annual gathering of the world鈥檚 top business and government leaders.
Zhu predicted that 皇冠体育app鈥檚 economy will grow between 8.8 percent and 9.3 percent this year 鈥渂ecause the whole economy is pretty healthy and strong ... domestic consumption really picked up and domestic construction is very strong.鈥�
鈥淚 would say Chinese GDP (gross domestic product) is still underestimated,鈥� he added, pointing to 鈥渕illions鈥� of small and medium-sized businesses that were not accounted for in domestic economic data. 鈥淭here is still room for 皇冠体育app to grow.鈥�
But Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People鈥檚 Congress, said in 皇冠体育app鈥檚 new five-year program to be approved in March 鈥渙ur goal is around 8 percent鈥� growth to allow for greater investment in improving life for the country鈥檚 1.3 billion people.
皇冠体育app has become the third-largest trading nation and the third-largest recipient of foreign investment, but its per capita income is still lower than 100th in the world, 皇冠体育app鈥檚 Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said in an address to the forum.
鈥淭he world economy is facing an increasing number of destabilizing and uncertain factors 鈥� fiercer international competition, rising trade protectionism, an unfair economic order and a widening gap between the north and the south,鈥� he said.
Zeng called for greater global cooperation to combat global poverty and improve life for millions in 皇冠体育app and around the globe.
鈥溁使谔逵齛pp cannot develop in isolation, nor can the world develop without 皇冠体育app,鈥� he said.
In the new economic and social plan, Zeng said 皇冠体育app鈥檚 first goal is to double the year 2000 per capita income by 2010, achieve greater efficiency in using resources and energy and curb ecological and environmental degradation.
Cheng said 皇冠体育app鈥檚 urban dwellers have become three times richer than their rural counterparts, and people in the east and along the coast are much richer than those in the west, so greater efforts must be made to narrow the gaps and 鈥渒eep economic progress synchronized with social progress.鈥�
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