Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang Stresses at the Second Global Think Tank Summit

The international community should work in concert to make innovative improvements in global economic governance to promote the strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy as well as the common development of all countries, said Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang.

At the opening ceremony of the Second Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing on June 25, Li made a five-point proposal on improving global economic governance:

l Strengthened global economic governance is of great importance to world economic development. The outbreak of the global financial crisis brought to light flaws in the international financial system and deficiencies in global economic governance. Countries should work together to improve and make innovations in global economic governance in a bid to enhance their capacity to prevent economic crises. In international financial institutions, the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries should be increased in keeping with the principles of mutual respect and collective decision-making. As the world's largest developing country, China is willing to address global challenges and share development opportunities with other countries. It will also work to make the international economic order more just and equitable.

l Improved fiscal and financial systems are crucial to eliminating the root causes of the global financial crisis. Since the underlying problems fueling the crisis have yet to be rooted out, the international community should strengthen supervision over financial innovation and capital flows. The liquidity of major reserve currencies should be kept at a reasonable and stable level. Efforts should be made to establish fair, just, inclusive and orderly international monetary and financial systems.

l The realization of a sound economic recovery calls for guarding against risks of global inflation. No country is capable of addressing global inflation alone. Instead, countries need to communicate with each other to coordinate macroeconomic policies before they can revitalize their economies and curb inflation.

l While promoting sustainable economic development, countries should stick to globalization and free trade. Trade liberalization is an important engine driving world economic development as well as a precondition to an all-round recovery. The world community should adhere to the direction of economic globalization, firmly oppose and resist trade and investment protectionism, promote the establishment of a balanced and win-win multilateral trade regime and enable people of all countries to share in the benefits of free trade.

l Narrowing the gap between the South and the North is a fundamental approach to promoting lasting peace and prosperity in the world. The global community should give greater prominence to the South-North gap in the global agenda. It should take the initiative in supporting underdeveloped countries as an important part of its efforts to promote balanced economic development around the world. More economic resources and better institutional support should be devoted to this initiative to help improve those countries' abilities to seek development by themselves.

Li also gave an account of the implementation of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and ongoing efforts to formulate other major development programs. In the next five years, China will harmonize efforts to maintain stable and rapid economic development, adjust economic structure and manage inflationary expectations. It will promote sustainable economic growth as well as social harmony and progress by taking into consideration both immediate and long-term interests.

China will pursue economic stability, expand domestic demand, focus on green development and strike a balance between economic and social development. It will deepen reform and opening up by advancing reforms in all sectors in an all-round way and implementing a more proactive opening-up strategy. It will integrate the concept of changing the economic development pattern into the whole process and all sectors of economic and social development. These efforts will not only benefit the Chinese people but will also create opportunities for the development of other countries.

Zeng Peiyan, Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, presided over the opening ceremony, which was also attended by three of the center's advisers, Jiang Zhenghua, Tang Jiaxuan and Xu Kuangdi.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and former Polish Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz W. Kolodko also made speeches.

More than 500 participants attended, including officials with departments of China's Central Government, former political leaders of foreign countries, officials from international organizations and representatives from Chinese and foreign think tanks and Chinese companies.

The Second Global Think Tank Summit was hosted by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. The theme of the summit's main forum was "global economic governance: common responsibility." There were two sessions devoted to the topics of "economic situation and inflation control" and "G20 and reform of the international monetary system." The summit's four sub-forums addressed "energy security and nuclear energy," "industrial shift and reconstruction," "capital flow and investment environment," and "global economic governance and the role of think tanks" respectively.