Economy

China Still Most Attractive Investment Destination

“We will promote reform and opening-up and establish a transparent capital market featuring long-term stability and healthy development. We will continue to make China the worlds most attractive investment destination，” Premier Li Keqiang pledged when he met with European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen at the end of September.

Katainens visit to China on this occasion was to call for a speeding-up of negotiations on the China-EU joint investment fund that the leaders of the two sides proposed last June. Li Keqiang said that the fund will promote bilateral investment and financial cooperation and help to explore the markets of a third country. Also that it would demonstrate Chinas firm support for the euros stability and EU solidarity.

Hailing the progress of China-EU cooperation， Li said that greater cooperation between the two sides will benefit both and send a positive signal to the world amid the global economic recovery.

He added that the Chinese economy will continue to run within a reasonable range， and that the long-term positive trend of Chinas economic fundamentals remains unchanged.

Li said in his speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015 in early September that China will continue to keep the RMB stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level， and gradually make the currency convertible on the capital account.

Blueprint to Develop the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The Outline of the Strategic Yangtze River Economic Belt Plan is expected to be issued by the end of this year， an official of the National Development and Reform Commission said at a recent press conference. The Yangtze River Economic Belt， together with the BeijingTianjin-Hebei cluster and the Belt and Road Initiative， are considered Chinas three national strategic plans.

Premier Li Keqiang said on several occasions this year that building the Yangtze River Economic Belt will underpin Chinas sustainable development. The belt will encompass eleven regions， including Shanghai， Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Anhui， Jiangxi， Hubei， Hunan， Chongqing， Sichuan， Chongqing， Yunnan and Guizhou， whose proportions of population and GDP both exceed 40 percent of the national total. The Yangtze River， the worlds third longest， traverses Chinas eastern， central， and western regions， linking the coast with the inland. The belt zone along the river， therefore， will have unique strengths and huge potential. The construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt will enable the coastal regions to support and interact with the central and western regions. The strategic initiation is expected to facilitate the mobility of production elements and the market as well as industrial transfer and upgrading and the emergence and development of new towns and cities. The economic belt will thus generate immense development stimuli for more than one-fifth of the countrys land and around 600 million of its people.endprint

Although the Yangtze Rivers transport volume ranks first among global inland rivers， it still has remarkable potential， and its transport capacity can be improved. Premier Li also emphasized ecological safety and warned against “pollution transfer” as a result of “industrial transfer.”

SINO-U.S. Food Wisdom Valley Established

Chinas Yili Industrial Group and its collaborative U.S. partners established in late September the SINO-U.S. Food Wisdom Valley in Seattle. This is believed to be an important outcome of President Xi Jinpings recent U.S. visit.

The SINO-U.S. Food Wisdom Valley will render Yili， Chinas leading dairy producer， a platform of cooperating with world renowned universities， scientific research institutes and agricultural enterprises in the U.S. The project mainly focuses on nutrition and health， product development， food safety， agricultural technology， animal husbandry， veterinary medicine， ecological environmental protection， enterprise management， and personnel training.

Pan Gang， president of Yili， said at the launching ceremony that the SINO-U.S. Food Wisdom Valley will mobilize top-level talents in agricultural and food industry， so promoting innovative cooperation between the U.S. and China and bringing tangible benefits to the enterprises and peoples of the two countries.

Pan added that China and the U.S. play complementary roles in the agricultural sector. The bilateral cooperation in agriculture shows great potential for future development， bearing in mind that the GDP per capita exceeds US $10，000 in a growing number of regions in China， and that diversified and customized healthy foods are gaining popularity among Chinese consumers， so creating a huge market demand.

China Leads Emerging Economies in Global Competitiveness Ranking

China has maintained the 28th ranking in global competitiveness that it held last year， signifying that it is the most competitive economy among major emerging markets， according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 released by the World Economic Forum （WEF） in September.

Chinas economic foundation is solid， according to Oliver Cann， one of the compilers of the report. The country has achieved almost universal primary education and a high level of public health. It has also invested massively in infrastructure， ensuring a relatively stable macroeconomic environment. These achievements have contributed to Chinas emergence as a manufacturing hub， and also constitute assets for its further growth. The report suggested that to achieve a higher ranking， China needs to transform its economic development model to one that is more sustainable.

Despite many challenges and intra-regional disparities， competitive trends among Asian economies are mostly positive. Singapore， Japan and Chinas Hong Kong are all in the top ten， and India has reversed a fiveyear downward trend and risen to 55th position.

“The fourth industrial revolution is facilitating the rise of new industries and economic models，” said Klaus Schwab， founder and executive chairman of the WEF， adding， “To remain competitive in this new economic landscape will require greater emphasis than ever before on the key drivers of productivity， such as talent and innovation.”

Since 1979， the WEF has yearly published the Global Competitiveness Report. Its ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index（GCI）， calculated by drawing together data covering 12 categories， such as institutions， infrastructure， macroeconomic environment， and market efficiency.endprint