LONDON: Even in the face of obstacles, China has still been handling its economy “exceptionally well” and its ideal of building a community with a shared future will eventually come through, Stephen Perry, Britain’s 48 Group Club chairman tells Xinhua news agency in an exclusive interview.
Recently, some multinationals are worried about China’s slowdown in economic growth as its economy grew 6.6 per cent year-on-year in 2018 despite global challenges. It was lower than the 6.8-per cent growth registered in 2017, but was still above the official target of about 6.5 per cent.
“The Chinese Government has handled the development of their economy exceptionally well,” said Perry, recipient of China Reform Friendship Medal for his contribution in the past 40 years to China’s reform and opening-up.
“It was one of the incredible wonders of the world that China has managed the transformation of its economy without any great crisis, and it is very capable,” he said.
He believed China had full experience in solving the current economic problems which were in part, caused by the United States (US)-waged trade war.
Perry noted that in recent years, China had been in economic transition of shifting its focus on economic quality and the welfare of their people, therefore soft drops in economic growth were predictable.
“The first thing is the transition, the 9, 10 per cent growth was only going to last for a short number of years, and now we are looking at the six per cent growth,” he said, adding that China was faced with global challenges in its bid to be a leader in innovation.
“With every sector China is involved in, every sector that is going to be a normal transformation within innovation and technological advance, and in all of them you will see China plays a leading role,” he said, but the West “is worried about losing its control” and that’s why “there is a lot of reaction to China’s rise”.
“I think it (the West) is misreading. What China wants to do is to become an advanced economy for its people being able to share their (country’s) wealth fairly and to be a happier, prosperous society,” he said.
To address concerns of the West, Perry said: “I think the long-term resolution of these problems lies within a community with a shared future”. – Bernama
