Seizing the Opportunities with Sober-Mindedness and Collectively Creating the Future of Asia

By Zheng Bijian

Seizing the Opportunities with Sober-Mindedness and Collectively Creating the Future of Asia

By Zheng Bijian

President of the National Institute of Innovation and Development Strategies

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Asian Civilization Dialogue Conference, President Xi Jinping emphasizes that "Asian countries are linked by mountains and rivers, and people are close to each other. They share similar historical circumstances and the same dream pursuit. Facing the future, we should grasp the general trend and conform to the trend, and strive to turn the aspirations of the Asian people for a better life into reality. To continue the new splendor of Asian civilizations, we must seize the opportunity soberly and jointly create the future of Asia. To this end, we need to focus on five interrelated respects.

First, observing Asia's issues, we need to put them in a situation that is unseen in the world for a century. Currently, the world is experiencing unprecedented changes in a century. Emerging market economies and developing countries are emerging as a group. Peace and development still remain the theme of the times, and economic globalization is irreversible. Meantime, unilateralism, trade protectionism and populism show strong momentum and get intertwined with each other, resulting in various changes and risks. This should be our strategic assessment and spiritual preparation for seizing the opportunity soberly and jointly creating the future of Asia.

Second, seizing the period of strategic opportunities in the profound changes of the world. Looking around the world, new and great changes are taking place in all respects of the world today. One is the great change in productivity characterized by the rapid progress of information technology; two is the magnificent change in international relations characterized by the emerging market economies and developing countries as a group; three is the major economic and political changes of the world's major powers characterized by some major powers having entered a major adjustment period. It is these unprecedented changes that have given birth to a profound world-wide change unseen in the world since modern times. While, it must be emphasized that, under the mega-trend of the times, all kinds of changes can only be limited in the final analysis, and can awaken the broad masses of people and many countries more soberly, so as to better grasp the "strategic opportunity period" including China and Asia.

Third, seeing clearly that the strategic opportunity of Asian countries today lies in the coming new round of economic globalization. Economic globalization once set some countries and regions in East Asia on the road to take off. Today, looking at the world, a new round of economic globalization, co-led by developing and developed countries, fully connected by marine and inland economies and interlinked online and offline, has been put on the agenda. This is a major new opportunity for the prosperity and development of Asian countries, including those in Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia. The new round of economic globalization with land-sea connection and online-offline linkage will enhance the productivity of Asian countries in the deep integration of new technologies and traditional manufacturing industries such as information technology, including the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, block chains etc.. It will activate innovators and build digital platforms and upgrade innovative power of Asian countries in the process of promoting informatization. It will create new supply and demand, overcome the information asymmetry in traditional markets, optimize the allocation of market elements, and enhance the market power of Asian countries. It will promote the orderly and transparent development of administrative governance, so that the vast majority of people can enjoy better governmental services, and enhance Asian countries social governance.

Fourth, in the face of such a complex and changeable world situation and "strategic opportunity period", the fundamental response is still to unswervingly grasp development, while focusing on creating a peaceful environment for the liberation and development of productive forces. Since the reform and opening up, China has seized the opportunity of economic globalization, independently built socialism with Chinese characteristics in the process of linking rather than divorcing from economic globalization, and embarked on the path of peaceful development. Peaceful development is an important experience of rapid development since China's reform and opening up. China's development provides a reference for countries and nationalities in the world who want to accelerate development and maintain their independence.

Fifth, in the face of opportunities and challenges, as well as predictable and unpredictable difficulties, we should strive to create "cohesion" and "endurance" with a high degree of self-consciousness. Fundamentally speaking, Asian countries have not only the common interests of getting rid of poverty and backwardness and speeding up modernization, but also the common pursuit of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, so they can fully form a community with shared interests and a community with shared future, and formulate a "cohesive force" to seize opportunities and meet challenges together. Meantime, we need to be very soberly aware that the development of Asia has never been smooth. This requires us to carry forward more consciously the Asian people's civilized tradition of hardship and endurance, to "endure" in the face of difficulties, and to formulate "endurance" to seize opportunities and meet challenges together. It is foreseeable that the people of Asia have the will to create a prosperous future for Asia and make new and greater contributions to world development with their "cohesion" and "endurance" to seize opportunities and meet challenges together.

(Edited excerpts of the article in People's Daily, June 13, 2019)

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