6

Liu Haixing, Assistant Minister, MFA of the People's Republic of China and Secretary General of the Secretariat for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, points out that in the previous year, the Chinese economy contributed more than 25 percent to global growth. He explains that, for the next five years, China will follow their new vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

Against the backdrop of sluggish economic recovery in Europe and beyond, how will the Chinese economy maintain its steady development?

2015 saw the slowest growth of the world economy in six years, global trade slowed down and commodity prices plummeted and heightened volatility in international financial markets. In such a complex and unfavorable environment, the Chinese government was committed to forestalling risks and promoting stable growth and at the same time, making structural adjustments and shifting the growth model. It developed new ways of conducting macroeconomic regulation, intensified reform and opened-up, advanced industrial innovation, and upgraded and improved people's wellbeing. As a result, progress was achieved and stability ensued in economic and social development. GDP reached 67.7 trillion yuan, representing an increase of 6.9 percent, a growth rate higher than that of most other major economies. The service sector, as a proportion of GDP, rose to 50.5 percent, accounting for more than half for the first time. Living standards improved. Per capita disposable income increased by 7.4 percent in real terms, overtaking the growth rate of the economy.

The Chinese economy has been further integrated into the world economy, as evidenced by increasing mutual influence, interactions and linkages between China and the rest of the world. China today plays a bigger role in the world economy. Countries have greater expectations with regard to China and a stronger interest in working with China. In 2015, the Chinese economy contributed more than 25 percent to global growth, which is set to continue.

The recent annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), adopted the 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development. 2016 is the first year of the Plan. In the next five years, we will follow the new vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, with a view to finishing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We will grow the economy at an average annual rate of at least 6.5 percent, continuously raise living standards, promote social progress on all fronts and see that everyone shares in the fruits of development and moves steadily toward common prosperity.

How should the relationship between development and environmental protection be handled? How do you see the Belt and Road initiative as an opportunity for aligning development and environmental protection?

Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "Clear waters and green mountains should be considered valuable assets." Environmental problems are development issues, in essence, and are inevitable in the course of modernisation. A paramount task in China's modernisation drive is to seek a balance between environmental protection and development. This year's Report on the Work of the Government and the 13th Five-Year Plan outline explicit requirements for environmental protection. We encourage green ways of working and living and will speed up efforts to conserve ecosystems and the environment, so as to improve the environment, while we achieve economic development. We have set a number of quantifiable targets. We will aim to cut water consumption, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 23 percent, 15 percent, and 18 percent respectively and raise forest coverage to 23.04 percent. We will develop and use energy and resources much more efficiently and improve the quality of ecosystems and the environment. In particular, we strive for major progress in the control and prevention of smog and see to it that the air quality of cities is at or above the prefectural level, which is good or excellent for over 80 percent of the year.

The Vision and Actions on Jointly Building the Belt and Road Initiative requires us to promote ecological progress and make the Silk Road an environmentally-friendly one. First, we will apply the principle of green development to the whole process of building the Belt and Road. Second, we will integrate the efforts of ecological and environmental protection, using regional cooperation mechanisms in this field as a platform. Third, we will establish new mechanisms for green finance and boost green investment. Fourth, we will build a cross-border network to make environment information more readily available.

I stayed in Slovenia for just two days, yet I was deeply impressed by the beautiful landscape here. It is due to the government's work on environmental protection and the environmental awareness of the public. In this regard, we are willing to learn more from you so that we are able to preserve clear waters and green mountains for our future generations while pursuing economic development.

As China-CEE cooperation deepens, practical cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results. At the moment, some CEE countries are taking the brunt of the ongoing refugee crisis. Do you see any possible cooperation between CEE countries and China in managing the persistent influx of refugees?

Thanks to the collective efforts of all sides, China-CEE cooperation has developed into an important platform in just four years. It has expanded and drawn more countries in and delivered tangible benefits to the people of the 17 countries. As an important participant of China-CEE cooperation, Slovenia takes the lead among CEE countries with regard to tourism, think-tank exchanges and forestry cooperation.
Europe is facing the refugee challenge. We are convinced that Europe has the wisdom and capability to meet the challenge. China has followed the matter closely and provided relevant countries with multiple tranches of humanitarian relief through bilateral and multilateral channels. As a Slovenian saying goes, "Skupaj zmoremo več (Together we can do more)". Likewise, a Chinese saying goes, "A flame will burn high when everyone adds a piece of firewood to it." China stands ready to step up communication and cooperation with relevant countries, including Slovenia, and the wider international community and play a constructive role in the resolution of the refugee issue.

What is your view on the role of media in gaining public acceptance for the Belt and Road initiative and related mechanisms?

The Belt and Road initiative is designed to promote policy coordination, road connections, unimpeded trade, financial flows and people-to-people bonds. Public diplomacy is an important way to enhance people-to-people bonds. Supported by the internet and other new media, people-to-people bonds can transcend time and space and contribute to the public acceptance of the Belt and Road initiative.

The media have a significant role to play in building the Belt and Road initiative. Media cooperation could help increase trust, dispel misgivings and pool consensus. More importantly, it could inject more positive energy into this initiative and allow the Belt and Road, which have spanned two millennia and across Asia, Africa and Europe, to regain past glory and enhance the wellbeing of people along the routes. Journalists should report the development progress in countries and regions along the routes in an objective, rational, faithful and readable manner, contribute to greater mutual understanding and trust among the countries involved and constructively advance this ambitious endeavor which reinvigorates and benefits regions along the routes and beyond. Second, carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road in an open and inclusive way. The media should promote inter-civilization and cross-cultural dialogues and exchanges with an open and broad mind so as to serve as a bridge of friendship connecting people of different countries, a driver for progress of human society and a facilitator of world peace. Third, advance the Silk Road cooperation and take part in the initiative. Efforts should be made to create more platforms for communication through various forms of rich dialogues, exchange of news products, personnel and new technologies, as well as through public diplomacy and non-governmental activities.