Sina published Wanda Chairman’s account of his activities at Davos Conference

From the 2nd to the 7th day of the first month in the lunar calendar, Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin attended for the first time the annual conference of the World Economic Forum. commonly called the Winter Davos Forum, this conference was one of the most influential events in the world, attracting large numbers of illustrious business people and the worldwide attention. As many of your are familiar with the contents, roles and unique features of this conference, I’d like to limit the account to my personal feelings about Davos…
DAVOS: China Econ Growth Engine Still Strong - Business Executive

DAVOS, Switzerland -(Dow Jones)- The engine of growth behind China's economy remains strong despite the financial crisis, and there's still plenty of room for it to grow, a senior Chinese business executive said Wednesday.

Speaking with Dow Jones Newswires at the World Economic Forum, Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, a commercial real estate company, said he expected his company profits to continue to grow at a rapid rate.

"There's a fundamental difference between China's economy and those of Europe and the U.S.," said Wang, who is a standing member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"The engine that powers China's economy is still working and is very strong," Wang said.
There are three reasons that give him confidence: firstly, China's urbanization rate is still very low - just 30%; secondly, Chinese consumption constitutes only 35% of total gross domestic product, so there's a lot of room for it to grow; and finally, China's population is still increasing fast, he said.

"Of course, due to the financial crisis, the growth of China's GDP may slow to around 5% to 8% from around 11%, but it is still expanding very quickly," Wang said.

He added that he expected both profits and sales at his company to be up around 50% in 2009 from the previous year, despite a slight slowdown.

"The financial crisis poses little impact on the real economy in China," he said.

China confident of getting back onto fast track growth

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — China may face "severe challenges" now because of the economic crisis, but Premier Wen Jiabao and businessmen are confident the country will soon be on the fast-track to growth.

Wen acknowledged at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the financial crisis has hit China hard with growth collapsing in recent months.

He stressed that economic growth must hit 8.0 percent this year to stop social discontent boiling over. "We think we must maintain growth at 8.0 percent this year. This is necessary and can be managed through hard work," Wen said in answer to a question on stability in China.

"To be honest, it will be a tall order to achieve a growth rate of 8.0 percent in 2009 but I am sure it can be attained with hard work," Wen said.

The figure is markedly higher than the 6.7 percent growth for 2009 projected by the International Monetary Fund, well below its average of recent years.

China has set out a four trillion yuan (590 billion dollar) stimulus package and Wen said he was "full of confidence" that China's economy will soon be back to the fast-pace growth that the country has become used to.

"Where does our confidence come from? It comes from the fact that the fundamentals of China's economy remain unchanged," he said.

The stimulus money is to be spent on tax cuts, public housing and helping the rural population -- badly hit by unemployment -- railway and infrastructure projects, environmental protection and rebuilding after the earthquake of last year in southern China, according to the premier.

"Our economy remains on the track of steady and fast development," he said.

Wen said the government was also confident because the conditions that have allowed for 30 years of spectacular growth remain unchanged -- a well trained "relatively low cost labour force" and a huge trade balance which allows for the injection of cash when needed.

The Chinese system, though criticised by rights groups and foreign governments, "enables us to mobilise the necessary resources for big undertakings. There is harmony and stability in our society," Wen said.

Business leaders also expressed optimism about the growth target.

"I remain very optimistic about the Chinese economy in 2009 because there is still room for domestic development," Wang Jianlin, vice chairman of China's Federation of Industry and Commerce, told AFP.

He said he believed the Chinese economy could grow by 8.0-9.0 percent this year.

Wang, chairman of property firm Dalian Wanda Group, said real estate sales were typically slower in November and December as fewer Chinese were keen on big purchases in the run-up to Chinese New Year, but the group achieved more sales in December than in July.

"Prices are also rebounding, not just in real estate. Prices of food products are also moving up," he said.

Wang expects the government to unveil another round of stimulus measures next month, including interest rate and tax cuts.

"So by the third, fourth quarter, we should see a strong rebound," he said.

Li Shufu, chairman of carmaker Geely Holding said he was "still very optimistic about the Chinese economy this year."

Without giving percentage figures, he said sales were sharply higher in December and January.

While he would not make a projection for full-year growth, he said new government measures such as tax cuts for smaller vehicles should stimulate sales in March.

Both businessmen said it was "responsible" for China to continue contributing to world growth.

But Wang would not go as far as to say that China would save the world economy.

"No, not a saviour yet. When China's economy makes up a third of world economic growth, you can say that," he said, noting that it contributed to 22 percent of world growth last year.