Int'l experts say world expects more participation in reform, opening up of China's special economic zones

BEIJING -- International experts have said the world expects to participate more in the reform, opening up and development of China's special economic zones and join hands with China to build a new pattern of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday welcomed foreign countries to participate more in the reform, opening up and development of China's special economic zones.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said foreign participation has been indispensable in the building of the special economic zones over the past 40 years, which in turn has also created vast development opportunities and offered development benefits for foreign countries.

Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club, said "Shenzhen continued to grow and develop as the showroom for modern China. The world would come to visit Shenzhen and marvel at how quickly the city had sprung up as a global front runner in innovation in the new world."

Shenzhen "will be a magnet for South East, East, Central and South Asia," said Perry, also a recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal, adding that "millions will come from within China and from beyond to see Shenzhen and China's future. They will come for trade and investment, finance and law, and new forms of development for the new world that is opening up in the Asian region."

Sergei Lukonin, head of the Department of Economics and Politics of China at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of Russian Academy of Sciences, said China has injected impetus into the development of the world economy.

China's openness has a strong positive impact on the global economy, because it led to an increase in the volume of international trade and the volume of trade between different countries, said Lukonin.

China has created a unique manufacturing environment, said Lukonin, adding that China has become a place where it is possible to implement the full lifecycle from development to production and not just production.

Sultan Mehmood Hali, head of the Pakistan-China Media Forum, said the development of the Greater Bay Area is of great significance to China's implementation of innovation-driven development and commitment to the reform and opening-up, which facilitates in-depth integration within the region.

Noha Bakir, a professor in political science with American University in Cairo, said that the establishment of special economic zones is an important and innovative step of the Communist Party of China in China's socialist modernization drive, which has changed China's economic development pattern.

Egypt and other Arab countries can learn from these experiences, she said. "China's progress has always inspired the world. What's more, these developments are aimed at bringing welfare, development and peace to all mankind."

Yu Hong, senior research fellow of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said President Xi's speech has demonstrated China's determination to further its reform and opening-up policies.

For its rapid economic development and remarkable achievements, Shenzhen has embarked on the path the rest of China will follow, Yu said. China's continuation of a new round of reform and opening-up would provide positive influence for global economic development.

Kosala Wickramanayake, president of International Business Council, Sri Lanka said "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has helped China open up its economy to global investors and has been the catalyst of the immense growth China saw in the last 40 years."

President Xi's speech is very commendable because he wants to open up China to the outside world and promote innovation, he said.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.