I am very glad to attend the Forum 2006 on Dialogue between Chinese Private Enterprises and Fortune Global 500. On behalf of the Ministry of Commerce, I would like to extend my congratulations on the opening of the Forum, and my warm welcome to all guests here. Multinationals and private enterprises are two significant driving forces for the Chinese economic development. I sincerely hope both parties can take full advantage of today’s dialogue to identify more cooperation opportunities for the sake of mutual benefit.

Firmly opening to the outside world is China’s set basic state policy. In the past 27 years of reform and opening up, China’s GDP has realized a fast and steady growth of 9.6% annually. As a result China’s ranking in terms of GDP has jumped to NO. 4 in the world.

As a part and parcel of the open policy, China’s FDI attraction efforts have yielded remarkable results. For 15 consecutive years, China has been the largest destination of foreign investment among the development countries. By the end of September 2006, the aggregate number of FDI inflow in China amounted to US$665 billion coming from about 200 countries and regions. 480 out of the Fortune Global 500 have invested in the country. And more and more multinational companies are listing China as a priority region in their global investment strategies. At the same time, the multinational companies are paying greater attention to the localization strategy by adopting a variety of means in launching cooperation with local companies and identifying development modes conducive to mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. In this process, there are a growing number of Chinese private companies starting their cooperation with the multinationals.

The private enterprises in China have been growing up in the market economic environment in China. They are playing a more and more important role in the national economic development as an indigenous economic force. At present, they take up more than 50% of the country’s total GDP, and the momentum of growth is encouraging. It is expected that during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the economic growth rate of the private sector will be higher than the national average, and its proportion in the national GDP will reach 3/4.

Both the multinational companies and the Chinese private enterprises have their unique competitive advantages. The multinationals are strong in capital, R&D, managerial experiences, global market and resources integration, while the Chinese private companies’ strength lie with their knowledge about the specific national situation, entrepreneurial spirit, flexible operational mechanism, and strong local resources integration capacity. In today’s world of economic globalization, how to conduct mutually beneficial cooperation for common development is a meaningful topic to study.

The Forum today has received the great support from relevant central and local government departments, professional investment promotion agencies, trade associations, business representatives, scholars and experts, as well as international organizations and foreign governments and institutions. We are confident that the multinational and Chinese private companies can make full use of this platform to listen attentively to the opinions and suggestions on the cooperation between them, and to discuss on the areas and modes of cooperation so as to create better opportunities for their future win-win cooperation.

To conclude, I wish the Forum a success!

Thank you!

Video: Speech of Wang Chao at the Opening Ceremony of 2006 Dialogue Between the Private Enterprises and Fortune Global 500 Companies in Wenzhou

(Source: Network Center of MOFCOM)