Belt, Road attracting attention in Japan
Scholar upbeat on Beijing-Tokyo business venture opportunities
The ongoing first session of the 13th National People’s Congress is of great importance, as it is putting on public display thoughtful discussion on the important issues facing China within the context of President Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, said Gyokurin Sei, manager of market operations for the Asia-Pacific team of major Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corp.
It therefore comes as little wonder that the event in Beijing is winning plenty of attention in both China and abroad. New Chinese government officials are expected to be appointed — a procedure that takes place every five years.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, which was the Chinese government’s recognition of economic reform as key to the country’s development. It is all an attempt to unlock China’s full potential, Sei said.
In earlier periods of the country’s reform and opening-up drive, China attached great importance to attracting foreign investment and relied heavily on export revenue. As a result, China built itself into “a factory of the world”, Sei said.
With domestic and overseas markets in mind, China has recently been working hard to become a leading supplier of high-end products as well as an international gateway for imports and exports.
China is working hard to build a more integrated global community. Sei, who is also a nonresident scholar with the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said the Belt and Road Initiative is a clear example of this as it aims to promote tighter economic ties worldwide that are mutually beneficial for all.
The initiative has been wellreceived in the international community — a large part of which has expressed a desire to actively participate, he said.
The initiative, Sei said, is attracting much attention in Japan. The Japanese government — particularly the Foreign Ministry — is both wary and hopeful about the strategic purpose of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Thanks to Japanese companies’ interest in playing a part in the initiative, government departments, including the ministries of industry and transportation, are increasingly hopeful of finding areas of possible cooperation with China.
Though some distrust still exists between the two countries, China and Japan can still step up cooperation in many areas including infrastructure projects that Chinese and Japanese firms have jointly worked on and financed together, Sei said.
He added that there are many more projects that hold potential for further cooperation between the two neighbors, including cross-border e-commerce, transcontinental railway development and seaborne container transportation.
The public-private partnership programs funded by international financial organizations including the Chinainitiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank, in which Japan is a major shareholder, can serve as platforms for cooperation between China and Japan, he said.
If you ask what some of my takeaways are from reporting on the 13th National People’s Congress, I would say it’s the growing popularity of made-inChina products in many places around the world as well as a continued respect for the attributes of the real economy.
Being a frequent visitor to the United Kingdom for years, I have mixed feelings every time I pay a visit to Bicester Village, a famous luxury brands outlet close to Oxford. At almost every shop — from Gucci, Burberry and Prada to Kate Spade — there will surely be Mandarin-speaking employees, because Chinese visitors make up about half of the visitors to the mall. Even the train station at the mall has included Mandarin in its PA system.
When you check labels on goods there, it won’t come as too much of a surprise to find the handbags and shoes that catch your eye are made in China. Everyone knows that China is a manufacturing powerhouse.
Yet with brands from the UK, the United States, Italy, Spain and elsewhere, not a single Chinese brand can be spotted at the outlet. No one seems to like Chinese brands. But I think it is just a matter of time before people realize that made-in-China products are different from what people used to assume.
NPC deputies, especially those with business knowledge, have always been emotionally touched in different ways when I ask them about the difference between products made in China and those produced elsewhere. What they told me is that many China-made products have no quality differences compared with foreign products, and some of them are even superior.
That is why I am pleased that the real economy — the part of the economy involved with actually producing goods and services — is outshining “non-real” phenomena like the buzz around e-commerce startups, rampant housing price fluctuations and financial speculation, and is again attracting plenty of attention during this year’s two sessions.
Now, smartphone brands such as Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi are popular in India, Southeast Asia and Europe. China-made electric doubledecker buses are plying the streets of London, and Changan and Lifan sedans are being driven across Africa.
After being a business reporter for seven years, I understand deeply that the real economy is the foundation of a modern economy. The use of new and evolving technologies including the internet, big data and artificial intelligence should be further supported to boost traditional industries.
Chinese consumers need a greater level of confidence when assessing the real value and technological content of domestic brands.
After decades of rapid advances, China is shifting its economic focus to high-quality development, with stronger reforms in place to tear down barriers to brisker business and inject more vitality into the economy. I’m sure that the enhanced Chinese approach to intelligent manufacturing, opening-up policy and industrial upgrading can generate robust growth momentum. Contact the writer at zhongnan@ chinadaily.com.cn