Globalization a double-edged sword, says President Jiang
Globalization a double-edged sword, says President Jiang
HONG KONG (AP): Unfair international politics has made
globalization both a blessing and a bane for Asia, Chinese
President Jiang Zemin said on Tuesday in a speech to corporate
leaders championing the trend toward a global economy.
In a keynote speech to the Fortune Global Forum, Jiang
described globalization as a "double-edged sword" that, due to
what he called an "unfair and unreasonable international and
political order," had made developing countries more vulnerable
to economic turmoil.
The increasingly global economy offers poor countries easier
access to international capital, new markets and opportunities to
acquire advanced technology, Jiang said.
At the same time, Jiang said the gap between rich and poor
countries was widening and developing countries had become more
prone to shocks such as the Asian financial crisis.
Jiang did not elaborate, but China often accuses the United
States and other Western countries of economic and military
imperialism. Those denunciations have intensified since the
collision of a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the
South China Sea last month.
Still, Jiang noted no country can develop in isolation. He
pledged China would continue to open its own economy,
particularly its banking, insurance and telecoms industries, and
reiterated Beijing's determination to join the World Trade
Organization, which sets global trade rules.
He reassured executives gathered for the three-day conference
that Beijing would "continue to improve its investment climate
and attract more foreign capital."
From 2001 to 2005, China will import an estimated US$1.4
trillion of equipment, technologies and other products and its
development will "present huge business opportunities," Jiang
said.
Jiang gave a positive appraisal of Hong Kong and its political
leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Hong Kong's freedoms and
its capitalist way of life have remained intact following the
former British colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997, he said.
Shielded by intense police security from protests by pro-
democracy activists and members of the Falun Gong meditation
sect, which is outlawed on the Chinese mainland, Jiang praised
Tung for his "wisdom" and attacked groups he accused of trying to
"create tension."
Jiang did not specifically mention Falun Gong, which remains
legal here and, under tight police control, is demonstrating
against Beijing's suppression.
Jiang said Beijing would avoid interference in Hong Kong's
internal affairs.
With its "relatively sound banking regime, market mechanisms
and legal system" Hong Kong would remain a bridge between
mainland China and the rest of the world, he said.