The second day of the FutureChina Global Forum commenced in similar fashion with a lineup of different seminars happening concurrently, giving distinguished guests present a myriad of topics to choose from.
With one of the meeting rooms almost filled, prominent businessmen, Mr Wei Ying Chiao, Chairman of Ting Hsin International Group, Taiwan; Mr Fang Feng Lei, Chairman of Hopu Investment Management, and Mr Liu Yong Hao, Chairman of New Hope Group, tackled the issue on the future of the private sector in China.
“Fifty percent of China’s economy is currently propelled by the private sector,” said Mr Wei, the brainchild of ‘Master Kong Instant Noodles’, which became widely popular across China when it first hit the market in 1992.
He added that the secret for foreign businesses to thrive in China was to “热爱这个土地和热爱这土地的人”, which means to love the place and the residents in a fervent manner. He noted that this notion was synonymous with what Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had brought across during the dinner dialogue the night before.
The second speaker, Mr Fang credited China’s current growing structure of private enterprises to political figure Deng Xiao Ping’s and his foresight. Referring to the recent Shen Zhen venture, he stated that no one company could monopolize the venture due to the sheer amount of the country’s population, therefore although the private sector in China is growing, China still required state owned enterprises to stabilize the economy.
The third speaker, Mr Liu, summed up with a suggestion for both small Singapore companies and big Singapore companies like Temasek Holdings to work together so as to more efficiently penetrate China private sector.
After a quick networking break where name cards were exchanged over coffee and custard tarts, it was down to business once again.
‘Who are China’s rising political stars?’ was briefed by the likes of Dr Pei Min Xin, Professor Wang Gung Wu and Dr Rana Mitter.
The most important asset that great leaders should possess is “the ability to be quick to change and be highly versatile,” revealed Dr Wang, a professor of the National University of Singapore and chairman of the East Asian Institute, Singapore.
Yet other than having such qualities, one should also realize the situation of the modern government of China, which Dr Rana Mitter simplified into 3 P’s – ‘Policy strength, Personalization politics and Public opinion’. The Oxford academic explained that China leaders today are relatively pragmatic and handles things from a practical point of view.
Last but not least came the closing plenary luncheon session with Foreign Minister, Mr George Yeo at the grand ballroom of Ritz Carlton. Peppering his speech with several historical analogies, Minister Yeo sought to set China’s re-emergence in perspective as a closure to the one and a half day long event.
“In our part of the world, I think there will be 3 major poles. There will be China, there will be India and there will be US. And it is this triangle and how they relate to one another which really will decide the big issues of war and peace in this century…What will link China and India together? Not Chinese software, not Hindu software, it is the American software, through American universities, through the English language, through Anglo-Saxon rule of trade, of financial standards, so this is an interesting multi-polar world we are entering.”
Delegates from abroad gave the forum the thumbs up for its enriching content.
Ms Elizabeth C. Economy, one of 39 foreign speakers said, “There are two exceptional things about this particular conference…first with the range of topics covered, everything from security concerns and financial issues to more cutting edge issue like the environment and green growth and how the environment might affect China’s future trajectory. These are not the kinds of issues that are always covered in these large conferences [and] the other thing that made this conference so special was the range of views that was presented”.
While Dr Bernard Meyer, a delegate from Zurich commented the forum was interesting and helped him to understand how China achieved the economic wonder, “The forum helped me to better understand and talk to some of the people who are achieving these changes.”
“Stimulating and intensive…” These were the words of Mrs. Josephine Teo, CEO & Board of Director, Business China, who concluded the entire event as it came to an end.