Beyond the Wall: China’s future reforms need to push down numerous barriers

World
Europe

06:08

For the past twenty days, CGTN has been focusing on breakthroughs in thinking that are transforming China and leading its future. China's reforms started some 40 years ago, and has lifted the country from one of the poorest in the world, to the world's second largest economy. It is now standing at a crossroads for next round of reforms. In today's final episode of our special series "Beyond The Wall", CGTN correspondent Han Bin wraps up his journey of observation, through the lens and interviews, in finding what the walls are, and how to overcome them.

The Great Wall, a symbol of China. It was built to protect, and sometimes could isolate. It all depends on where you stand, and how you see it. China's fast growth has been achieved by removing old walls and building new ones. To some, reform means the liberalization of the market and letting fortunes flow.

WANG XIAOJIONG BOC INT'L FUTURES CO., LTD "China has brought in foreign investors, allowing them to trade in onshore crude oil futures."

HAN BIN SHANGHAI "It's being viewed as a significant move by Beijing."

ROCHELLE WEI J.P. MORGAN FUTURES "It can be a viable reference for global fiscal contracts."

CHEN ZHIFENG YEMA TRADING GROUP "As long as China loosens the reins for racing, the horse economy will develop fast."

HAN BIN XINJIANG "As China continues to open up, many people are pushing for liberalization."

CHEN ZHIFENG YEMA TRADING GROUP "To build Hainan island into one of the world's first-class free-trade ports, comparable to Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong."

JIANG HUA KUNLUN FIGHT "I think the next trillion-dollar market must be sports."

HAN BIN HAINAN "Kunlun Fight is among many innovative efforts breaking ground to change the system and allow a free market mechanism."

ZHANG WEI WE ARK "When the real economy is grafted to the financial market, there will be greater gains in wealth."

YAO JIE GREEIN "Most people regard farming as a tough job. But I see it has a huge lucrative market."

YUAN YALU YAO JIE'S WIFE "In the future, we can tell our children that their father used to try all his best to do such a good thing."

HAN BIN SHENZHEN "China's four decades of reform and opening up have granted the country more power to control wealth."

To some, reform means building an eco-friendly society.

LI WEIDONG CONSERVATIONIST "If the rabbits disappear, it would mean that our human environment is also disappearing."

CHRISTOPH SCHNEIDER HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY "It's not possible to protect the single glacier, you have to protect the global climate."

HAN BIN GANSU "If no action is taken, the sand area will expand."

GUO WANGANG BABUSHA FOREST FARM "Deserts aren't scary for humans. They have always been a natural landscape co-existing with humans."

WANG SHU AMATEUR ARCHITECTURE STUDIO "I think a big problem with China's urbanization is that it is too fast. When you have a lot of damage, where is the source of innovation?"

MA YANSONG MAD ARCHITECTS "The architecture and urbanism should be more about the relationship between human and nature."

HAN BIN BEIJING "How to make our future cities more sustainable?"

WU GANSHA UISEE TECHNOLOGY "To completely reduce the traffic jam, we need a systematic approach."

KONG FANLONG HOZON NEW ENERGY "New energy vehicles can solve the problems of energy consumption and environmental pollution."

LIU XIANGWU SHENGRUI TRANSMISSION "The new strategy becomes a new test for growth. We have to face up the challenge."

HAN BIN ZHEJIANG "The country is still a major polluter, but it's moving beyond being commercially driven."

To some others, reform means respect for individual rights.

RUAN RUAN BEIJING QUEER CHORUS "Whatever our sexual orientation, your role in society is a kind of voice. It's reasonable for any kind of voice to exist in society. It should not be abandoned."

HAN BIN SHANGHAI "This community is a wedge, pushing the envelope for openness and inclusiveness."

AH-PING MU PING'S DANCE GROUP "I can feel that it's getting more and more tolerance."

DUAN RONGFENG PFLAG CHINA, SHANGHAI "Whether it's to push down a wall or disperse the smog, there's a lot to be done."

YE XIONG SHANGHAI NARCOTICS CONTROL "Respect is so important."

"You and I, working together to create a miracle."

YE XIONG SHANGHAI NARCOTICS CONTROL "When you can experience that kind of success, the following road can be much easier to continue."

ZHOU LITAI ZHOULITAI LAW FIRM "To fundamentally change the situation of protecting the rights of migrant workers, the government needs to change the concept of management with much more emphasis on supervision. And the Workers Unions should play their due role. Enterprises should have consensus on people-oriented operations."

No reform is successful without a change in mindset.

HAN XUDONG SHANGKULI FARM "Reform needs much more strength."

LI YANHAI QIANJIN VILLAGE "To truly end the difference between rural and urban areas."

SHI WEN CHINA ACADEMY OF AEROSPACE AERODYNAMICS "Dare to do what our predecessors did not."

WU GANSHA UISEE TECHNOLOGY "We see quite a few barriers today."

XU BIN COOL HIGH TECHNOLOGY "The blocking wall could be the policy."

LU DONG CHINA SECURITY & PROTECTION GROUP "We have to transcend or pass through the walls."

JIANG HUA KUNLUN FIGHT "To rise to another height, and then rise further."

KONG FANLONG HOZON NEW ENERGY "A rainbow comes after the storm."

YAO JIE GREEIN "There is light at the end of tunnel."

The need for further reforms is much more urgent than ever before, as China is facing both internal and external challenges. These seem to be pushing the government to go deeper in a new round of opening up.

HAN BIN BEIJING "Four decades of reform and opening up, have taken China from isolation to economic dynamism, and the liberation of mind and redefining socialism. Many walls still stand in the way, and many of them are in people's minds. Future success lies in pushing boundaries to go beyond these walls, possibly in ways we cannot predict. Han Bin, CGTN, Beijing."