On July 25, an ambassadors’ roundtable was held in the Hall of Crane at the Beijing International Club. The event was organized by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS), an affiliate of the China International Communications Group (CICG), the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) of Tsinghua University, and Beijing Diplomatic Service.

▲The ambassadors’ roundtable

The event, themed “China’s Economy: Interpretation and Prospects,” featured JIANG Xiaojuan, member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and former deputy secretary-general of the State Council; ZHU Guangyao, former vice minister of finance; and YI Xiaozhun, former vice minister of commerce and former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization. The speakers explained China’s economic dynamics and policies as well as the relationship between the Chinese economy and the world economy. Also among the participants were YU Tao, vice president of CICG; YU Yunquan, president of ACCWS; WANG Yuning, vice president of ACCWS; ZHANG Chi, deputy director general of Beijing Diplomatic Service; as well as envoys and senior diplomats from 15 countries. Together, panelists explored how China’s economy can cope with challenges at home and abroad and the prospects of China’s economic cooperation with the rest of the world.

▲Keynote speech and Q&A by JIANG Xiaojuan

Hit by the pandemic, China’s growth missed expectations in the first half of the year, but there is enough momentum for it to bounce back in the second half, said JIANG Xiaojuan. Foreign investment in China this year also indicates investors’ confidence in the country’s long-term development, as it enjoys many economic drivers including a large market, a full range of manufacturing industries, a competitive workforce, and extensive application of digital technologies. In the future, China will continue to maintain relatively stable growth and achieve a more balanced and sustainable development in all aspects of society. 

 ▲Keynote speech and Q&A by ZHU Guangyao

According to ZHU Guangyao, China has managed to maintain economic growth in the first half of the year amid a more complex and challenging international landscape, COVID-19 waves across the country and the combination of a series of unexpected developments, showing signs of a steady recovery. In the second half of the year, strong actions must be taken to implement the policies that have been introduced, enhance total factor productivity, build up innovation capacity, and expand reform and opening-up policies in an effort to achieve sustained and stable growth.

▲Keynote speech and Q&A by YI Xiaozhun

The first half of 2022 saw strong resilience in China’s foreign trade as it overcame many challenges at home and abroad, YI Xiaozhun noted. China’s rapid growth has brought win-win results for its trade partners and contributed to the development of the world economy. He believes that global trade benefits all countries, and stressed that China, an opponent of the zero-sum game of economic nationalism, always seeks to build mutual trust and cooperation with its trade partners to achieve win-win development.

▲Concluding remarks by YU Tao

In his concluding remarks, YU Tao pointed out that as the Chinese economy and the world economy are deeply intertwined, countries are partners living together in a community with a shared future. He expressed the hope that the presentations of the three Chinese keynote speakers would help the participants better understand the relationship between the Chinese economy and the world and feel more confident in China’s growth and the prospects of its economic cooperation with the rest of the world. CICG will continue to support ACCWS to serve as an institutionalized platform for international dialogues between experts and diplomats, said YU. 

▲YU Yunquan as moderator

The envoys and senior diplomats at the event expressed their appreciation to the organizers for providing a platform for high-end professional dialogue. They noted that the pragmatic and frank exchanges have boosted their confidence in the prospects of China’s economic growth and cooperation, and they looked forward to more dialogues in the future. The Ambassadors’ Roundtable is a brand event jointly launched by the Center for International Security and Strategy of Tsinghua University, the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, and Beijing Diplomatic Service. This is the second event of the dialogue series, and more sessions will be held in the future covering a wider range of topics such as science and technology and public health.