CAIRO: Egypt’s International Economic Forum (EIEF) held a special session at the Cairo Marriott Sunday on the economic development of China by Siwei Cheng, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Committee.
Shafik Gabr, chairman of EIEF, introduced Cheng, highlighting the scholar’s influential views in fields such as the capital market, venture capital and management sciences, and his widely adopted “Fictitious Economy theory and how he played an important role in China’s economic transition to a socialist market system.
“We must have a balance of social equality and efficiency to maintain a good socialist market, said Cheng. “Reform is a must. China is not what it is today without reform, social stability and economic development, a central task.
With China’s financial reforms, the National People’s Congress has created a roadmap to be pursued by their state-owned and city banks. Other economic goals Cheng mentioned include increasing the GDP to 4 trillion by 2020, more investment in the West to improve the infrastructure, education system, more investment in the rural areas of China, and help from the government and charity businesses to improve the health and living standards of the poor.
On his “Fictitious Economy theory, Cheng briefly mentioned the premise where values for paper assets are only seen from the point of view of the buyer and seller. A certain stock valued highly may make the holder believe he is worth a million dollars, he explained, but once the market drops, the holder goes bankrupt. Cheng believes this phenomenon is part of being a developing country, hence economic development is critical.
“China is on the right track building socialism with Chinese aspects.By 2010, we want to have established a legal system with Chinese characteristics where the rule of law is combined with the rule of virtue, Cheng said.
He emphasized that Marxism is present and incorporated in China, but that the country must keep up with the times, innovate in a pioneering spirit as well as promote the Chinese culture, history and traditions.
With the fourth largest economy in the world and foreign direct investment for 2006 reaching over $ 60 billion, China is an emerging superpower.
But Cheng’s view is that China cannot take complete responsibility as the more industrialized nations of today.
“We don’t want to be a superpower, we want to make friends. If you take us as a friend, you will have a sincere friend. If you take us as your enemy, you will certainly have a tough enemy, he humorously concluded.
Cheng is currently attending the Financial Times China-Middle East Summit in Dubai.
He graduated from UCLA in 1984 with a Master’s degree and has written a dozen books and 200 theses published in periodicals in China and overseas. His current titles include Dean of the School of Management of the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of the Association of the Chinese Soft Science Research and Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA).
