China's Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have been in the news alot recently, with Shenzhen marking the 30th anniversary of its SEZ status on Monday (see an earlier post on this blog). This week (from Monday to Thursday) sees Xiamen SEZ play host to the Second World Investment Forum of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), where top political, business and organisational leaders are meeting to discuss the theme of “Investing in Sustainable Development”.
On Tuesday, the second day of the meeting, Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech to delegates explaining China's current economic development and its plans for the future, with the translation being posted on the Xinhua website on the evening of the same day. In his statistic-heavy speech, Xi's speech emphasised the merits of China's 'opening-up' economic strategy of the last 3 decades, referring to it as a “win-win”. According to the Vice-President, China received 90 billion US dollars worth of foreign investment in 2009, with foreign enterprises now providing for 45 million of the country's jobs. In addition, it is the continued aim of the PRC to encourage further investment by foreign countries, through the promotion of a fair and open market and investment environment.
Xi Jinping's speech can be seen as a reflection of the Hu Jintao generation's attitudes to economic strategy. Unsurprisingly, it featured a reference to the current 'hot' political theme of scientific development, and emphasis the support at the top of the CCP for Deng Xiaoping's principle of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. However, with Xi also picked out by many people to be most likely person to succeed Hu Jintao when he steps down in 2013, Tuesday's address can also be interpreted as a statement of intent aimed to convey to top members of the Party his vision for China's future.
