International investors are confident about China's economic transformation, believing it can bring them good opportunities.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin, known as the Summer Davos, Dutch business leader Feike Sijbesma said his company, Royal DSM, is making good use of the opportunities provided by China's development. Royal DSM is still investing much in China because it is confident in China's economic prospects, Sijbesma said, adding that "China needs to develop new competencies to deal with the new future."
The theme of the two-day Tianjin forum, which concluded on Tuesday, is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by the increasing use of digital technologies and highly intelligent robots in China and some other economies.
The Chinese government is encouraging the use of digital and Internet technologies as a catalyst to modernize various sectors. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has vowed to keep pushing for supply-side structural reforms to upgrade the economy and ensure it keeps pace with the growing number of middle class consumers.
Sijbesma said the transformation is easier said than done, but nevertheless said he remained confident in the policymakers and the economy, citing the strong fundamentals such as the big market, the infrastructure, the ongoing urbanization, the developing middle class and the supply of over 2 million university graduates each year. The fast-growing middle class is believed to be an especially strong propelling force for China's economic evolution.
"Chinese consumers are spending more on lifestyle services and experiences while also moving from mass to premium segments. What is more, happiness and a balanced life are increasingly prized as the Chinese middle class moves up the income ladder," wrote Jonathan Eckart, an economist with the Economic Growth and Social Inclusion Initiative of the World Economic Forum.
Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum founder and executive chair, said China's development plan unveiled last year emphasizes innovation and entrepreneurship. "I think China can play a leading role in shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution," he said. "In spite of great difficulties, China's resolve to push forward supply-side structural reform has never been weakened, and its reform efforts have never been stunted," said Kevin Lu, chief executive officer of Swiss Partners Group in Singapore.
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