World media confident in China's economic outlook

BEIJING - China registered in 2015 the slowest economic growth in 25 years, but world media remain confident in the prospects of the Chinese economy, regarding the country as the main driver of the global economic growth.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance said Monday that the Chinese economy expanded 6.9 percent last year.

Despite the slowdown, overseas experts believe China has gained a strong foothold in the economy of the future by embracing the new industrial revolution and encouraging Internet-based innovations.

China is edging closer to leading the world's new industrial revolution, the experts said at the Davos forum held over the weekend under the theme of "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

"I do not see any reason why China should not be the leading or at least under the top three leading countries driving that transforming forward," said Bernd Leukert, member of the executive board of SAP, a global leader in corporate management software.

China has been among the leading countries in recent years in terms of the number of patent applications in 3D printing, robotic engineering and nanotechnology, according to the statistics released by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Hans-Paul Buerkner, chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, told Xinhua that among economies talking about reform or transformation, China would probably deliver greater certainty than the other parts of the world.

Despite challenges like the removal of excess capacity, "the sincerity of the efforts in China is very strong," he said.

Regarding innovation as the core of the national development plan, Chinese government has implemented measures to drive market-based reforms, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and cut red tape by streamlining procedures.

"A number of activities defined by the government in its 13th Five-Year Plan such as the 'Internet Plus' and 'Made in China 2015' show that China is going right towards that direction," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

According to data from the London-based consulting firm Preqin Ltd, in 2015, global venture capital made 1,555 investments in China's startups with a total value of $37 billion, up 147 percent over the previous year, showing the investors' confidence in China's pro-innovation policy and business-friendly environment.

"People were quite keen to see how China is transforming from a manufacturing hub to an innovation hub," said David Aikman, chief representative officer for Greater China, World Economic Forum.

The latest report from the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed that last year nearly two thirds of its member companies made profit in China, and three quarters saw good investment returns.

The report also found that most of the member companies were optimistic about the future growth of the Chinese market, and over 90 percent of them viewed innovation as the key to their future success in China.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that with the recognition that people have done something that they can be rewarded for, many experts have founded new companies in sectors such as IT, biology and robots. "China is going to carry its weight," he said.