It gives me great pleasure to speak on behalf of Mead Johnson, at this Summit on Green and Sustainable Development under the “One Belt and One Road” Framework. And I sincerely appreciate China Development Research Foundation for giving me this opportunity to share my views with you all.
In the past three decades, China enjoyed double-digit growth, which has:
– not only raised the country to the world’s second-largest economy,
– but also raised the living standards of its 1.3 billion people, and helped lifting over 500 million people out of poverty.
Last year (2014 red.) China’s GDP growth rate fell to 7.4 percent and China’s President Xi Jinping proposed “new normal” to define China’s new era of a lower rate of economic growth.
He further explained the concept at the Boao Asia Forum in March: “It is shifting gear from high speed to medium-to-high speed growth, from an extensive model that emphasized scale and volume to a more intensive one, emphasizing quality and efficiency, and from being driven by investment in production to being driven by innovation.”
Observers at home and abroad are wondering how China will adapt to this “new normal” era. From my perspective, we should welcome the new normal because it represents a healthier state for China’s economy. Once we recognize this, we know China is not at risk of an economic crash; it is entering a new stage of more sustainable development, which still presents plenty of opportunities!
And despite this relative slowdown, China will continue to be a major driver of global growth, with huge domestic demand. Economists predict China’s annual growth rate to be 7% under “new normal”, far outpacing most other emerging economies. China is helping global economic integration, by putting forward One Belt One Road, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, and BRICS bank initiatives among others.
In addition, there is ample room for expanding China’s household consumption, and Chinese government strives to boost consumption as part of the growth engine.
China is Mead Johnson’s single largest market having grown very rapidly from 1993, when Mead Johnson first entered, and established its roots in China.
We continue to see great opportunities in China and make long-term investments.
We also continue to fulfill our mission in China, to nourish the world’s children for the best start in life by delivering products, funding childhood education, and training and expertise, etc. to infants, children and parents, especially those in poorer areas in the west. This as part of the village early education program, a program jointly developed with the China Development Research Foundation.
We believe our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts in investing infants and children could contribute to China’s aim for more balanced and sustainable development.
In president Xi Jinping’s explanation of the “new normal”, boosting innovation and quality-driven growth are key objectives for the Chinese government. To accelerate the growth transformation towards a more green and sustainable, upgraded, more focused on higher-value, specialized, advanced technologies, etc. manufacturing base, the government has committed to driving Innovation and increasing the level of local R&D. Propelling creative thinking and IP protection are crucial to facilitate innovation; this relies on appropriate law and regulations.
In this year’s Chinese Government Work Report, Premier Li Keqiang emphasized the Chinese Government will exercise governance in accordance with the Constitution and other laws. Early this year, we have already seen the proposed Foreign Investment Law, tightened food safety law, amended Advertisement Law, etcetera.
We applaud the decision of the country’s central leadership to improve how the government regulates foreign investment and creates a “stable, fair, transparent and predictable” business environment. As a leader in infant formula industry, Mead Johnson will act with integrity and in accordance with the law, and we believe further improvement of the legal environment would help to narrow the gap with other mature economies and would certainly be one of the engines for future and sustainable growth in China.
Now deeply involved in our China operations, but before having worked in Rotterdam port and run MeadJohnson’s European plant in the Netherlands – both at the other end of the Silk Road Economic Belt, I can appreciate promoting historical trade lanes to the benefit of all countries along these trade lanes.
And if I am allowed one personal wish, it would be transforming the Eurasian Land Bridge to a strong, seamless rail connection between Europe and China with appropriate transshipment hubs along the way. History has shown that such infrastructure, supported be suitable policies, will facilitate economic integration and is the best trigger for strong economic development, and general development for all societies involved.
The new normal is in its early stage now, and the government has laid out several policies and reforms. Some are short-term measures, including fiscal and monetary policies, while others are long-term measures, such as improving the business environment and encouraging consumer spending. China’s success in transforming its growth pattern to a slower, more sustainable model will benefit itself and the world.
For wider color and context, please refer also: https://www.ejiltalk.org/chinas-one-belt-one-road-initiative-can-a-bilaterally-negotiated-globalization-2-0-internalize-human-rights-labor-and-environmental-standards/
