Opening-up, reforms have transformed China: analysts

With Hong Kong in the forefront, China’s 40 years of reform and opening-up have not only transformed its own economy and society but also promoted global peace and prosperity, said domestic and international politicians and scholars attending a conference on reform and opening-up on Monday.

The conference, entitled China’s 40 Years of Reform and Opening up: Implications for the World and Role of Hong Kong, was jointly organized by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Better Hong Kong Foundation.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policies which have led to a profound change for the nation and its people.

More than 200

representatives and former politicians from countries and regions including China, US, UK and Japan participated in the conference.

Xie Feng, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, said during his opening remarks that China has undergone a historic transformation.

“During the process, the Chinese people have not relied on expansion or colonization, nor have we counted on others to deliver,” Xie said at the conference.

China’s success has demonstrated that opening-up, cooperation and multilateralism are better than isolation, confrontation and unilateralism, Xie said.

As an important engine of the world’s economy, China has contributed over 30 percent of global growth in recent years.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told the conference that Hong Kong has played a significant and unique role as both a contributor and beneficiary in China’s reform and opening-up drive.

Hong Kong has had a shared experience with the Chinese mainland and contributed to the rapid modernization of the country. Hong Kong has transferred itself into a bridge that links the mainland to the global market, said Lam.

Xie said that the first joint venture in the mainland was established by a Hong Kong company, and the first five-star hotel in the mainland was built with money from Hong Kong investors.

Li Zhaoxing, former Chinese foreign minister, told the Global Times that the conference is timely and significant and comes at a time when China is continuing and strengthening reform and opening-up.

Since the beginning of this year, a series of initiatives have further opened China’s economy, including significant easing of market access in 22 areas for foreign investors, greater openness in the financial sector, and big cuts in import tariffs on automobiles and an array of daily consumer goods, according to Xie.

Benefiting the world

Xie said that the reform and opening-up is a historic event that has had a global impact and will continue to offer opportunities to the world.

China has fulfilled its WTO commitments and made major contributions in mitigating the Asian financial crisis and global financial crisis, he said.

Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama told the Global Times during the conference that China’s reform and opening-up has influenced many neighboring countries.

Japanese companies in China have gained a lot from the huge Chinese market, Hatoyama said through an interpreter. The emerging trade protectionism trend will lead to greater cooperation between China and Japan, said Hatoyama.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed willingness to cooperate with China on the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative last week during his trip to Beijing, which is significant to both China and Japan, Hatoyama said.

China’s reform and opening-up has also benefited Vietnam, which is implementing its equivalent to China’s reform and opening-up, Tran Thanh Huan, consul-general of the Vietnam Consulate in Hong Kong, told reporters during the conference.