China: The best value for money?

Jiang addresses the Fortune Global Forum in Hong Kong

By Willy Wo Lap Lam
CNN Senior China Analyst

HONG KONG, China -- Forget about China's flaps with the United States. Come and invest here because China is still the best value for money.

That was the main theme of President Jiang Zemin's speech at the Fortune Global Forum in Hong Kong, which was attended by nearly 700 top executives from around the world.

In his 30-minute speech, Jiang made no mention of the recent difficulties in diplomatic and military ties with the U.S.

Instead, Jiang pledged the leadership would push China's two-decades-old open door policy further, translating into unprecedented opportunities for multinationals.

Jiang said Beijing's stance on acceding to the World Trade Organization remained unchanged and he dangled before business executives even more attractive prospects post-WTO.

"Following its entry into the WTO, China will steadily expand its opening-up program … and create a level playing field for a fair and transparent competition between Chinese and overseas enterprises."

Globalization

QUOTE "There are still a few interest groups which always want to seek gains by creating tension here and there." - Jiang Zemin

Jiang was upbeat about the fruits -- including economic and technological progress -- of globalization.

And even though he cited the adverse impact of globalization - for example, the gap between North and South and between rich and poor - this issue was not played up.

The speech dwelt on the importance of peace as a prerequisite for development. Jiang said despite overall peaceful conditions worldwide, "conflicts and even local wars … have kept cropping up."

However, unlike editorials in official media and journals, there was no fingering the common targets in China: "hostile foreign forces" "hegemonists" or "neo-imperialists", which are usually taken to mean the U.S.

Diplomatic analysts said it was reflective of the president's moderate stance on the U.S. that he had steered clear of anti-American sentiments at the forum.

Moreover, he bent over backwards to show U.S. and Western businessmen in the audience that Beijing could separate economics from politics.

Supporting the SAR

One of Jiang's main objectives of coming to Hong Kong is to demonstrate support for the Special Administrative Region, whose economy is in a period of uneasy recovery.

He said the central government would never intervene in the autonomous powers of Hong Kong, whose citizens enjoy unprecedented freedom.

Jiang expressed his faith in the ability of Hong Kong to grab new opportunities -- and he vowed the mainland would provide its economy with a "strong shield" of support.

It is significant that unlike previous occasions, Jiang did not explicitly state his personal backing for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa -- or the latter's alleged goal of running for a second term (2002-2007).

While much of Sino-U.S. tension the past two months had to do with Taiwan, the president did not mention the disputed island at all.

Jiang said the one country two systems was a long-term policy and that the central government would never waver from it.

Analysts said the president avoided mentioning Taiwan because he did not want to give his audience the impression that Beijing might get into a conflict with the U.S. over it.

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