Delivering intelligent support for reform

By Lu Mai | China Daily | Updated: 2016-03-19 08:09

Editor's note: The China Development Forum 2016 is being held in Beijing from Saturday through Monday. The annual large-scale, high-profile international conference serves as an important platform for the Chinese government to carry out candid exchanges and discussions with global business elites, leaders of international organizations, as well renowned scholars from China and abroad. China Daily reporter Zheng Yangpeng interviewed Lu Mai, secretary-general of the China Development Research Foundation, about what will be discussed at this year's forum.

The theme of this year's forum is "China in the New Five-Year Plan". This year is the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), why is it so significant?

The 13th Five-Year Plan is a period of great significance for China, as it is striving to achieve its goal of building a moderately well-off society in all aspects by 2020 and implementing a comprehensive reform agenda that includes economic, political, cultural and social reforms. These reforms have to be coordinated, and the complexity and challenges involved should not be underestimated. This is the first year of the plan, and a good beginning is essential to carry it out successfully. The 13th Five-Year Plan is not only a domestic focus, it is also being widely watched by the international community. We chose this theme because after this year's sessions of the of the country's top legislative and consultative bodies, the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, set out the road map for this year, we hope to develop the details through an exchange of views between domestic and overseas delegates that can provide intelligent support for reform.

How many foreign guests have been invited?

Every year we invite entrepreneurs from the world's top corporations, leaders of the international organizations and renowned scholars to participate. This year the number of foreign participants will exceed 130. There are also 300 foreign observers.

This year, we have invited more leaders from innovation-oriented companies, multilateral development banks, as well as more academic leaders and representatives from world's top think tanks.

What is this year's agenda?

We have innovated our agenda this year, so a broader range of issues, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, supply-side reform, volatility in financial markets, new Internet business and aerospace technology, will be discussed. The forum will open with a one-day summit, during which 30 seminars will be held, to which all the delegates are invited to attend. Then there will be a "small scale and high-profile" meeting over the next day and a half. We are also offering 200 venues for local governments to seek cooperation opportunities with multinationals, and three additional closed-door meetings.