How experts view China’s economic drivers

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‍By CGTN's The Point

"Rather than tracking GDP growth, one should be tracking the actual quality of the growth," said David Mahon, Managing Director of Mahon China Investment Management Ltd. "The shift away from investment to consumption has been one of the major shifts, which means that China has its own domestic economic engines," he said during an interview on CGTN’s The Point.

In his report to the opening session of the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress on Wednesday, General Secretary Xi Jinping said China will leverage the fundamental role of consumption in promoting economic growth.

After trending downwards for a number of years, China’s real GDP growth has stabilized across recent quarters. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2012 the rate was around 7.9 percent. Since then, the growth rate slowed to its lowest point of 6.7 percent in 2016 and has since witnessed an upswing to 6.9 percent this year.

"We see a universal fear of China because there is an expectation that either China is growing too quickly and therefore they are going to become too strong or China isn’t growing fast enough and we can’t sell to them," said Mahon.

David Mahon, Managing Director of Mahon China Investment Management Ltd. /CGTN Photo

He complained that there is a lack of real economic and financial information about China in the Western media. "There is a lack of balance. There is a lack of objectivity," he added.

Mahon argued that foreign companies should learn from being in China and take note of the changes.

"It seems that for 300 and more years, people who look like me have been running the world. It's very hard for these companies to think outside their mindset and see themselves as participants in the economy rather than people coming into the economy with an advantage," he said.

He Weiwen, senior fellow of the Center for China and Globalization. /CGTN Photo

Talking about the 19th CPC National Congress, He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, thought said China stands at a historic point.

"Because after the 19th Party Congress, it will cover the next five years. And the next five years will cover the first centenary goal, that is becoming an overall wellbeing society in China by 2020, before the 100th anniversary of the Party," he explained.

"I am looking for a new leadership for the new China era," Yi Min, chief adviser for MTR China Business said about his expectations for the 19th CPC National Congress.

"I look for a new presentation, a new illustration for the Communist Party’s new leadership. Then we must follow the leadership from this Congress in the next decades. I am positive about the public services and the quality of life," he said.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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