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China aiming to quadruple GDP by 2020: Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) yesterday said the country was aiming to quadruple its GDP by 2020 and urged Asian nations to seize the opportunities it presented.

But in opening remarks to the Boao forum, a non-government organization aimed at fostering economic cooperation within the Asia-Pacific region, he warned that China's road to full modernization would be long and hard.

"In building a well-off society of a higher standard in an all-round way for the benefit of well over 1 billion Chinese people, China will quadruple its 2000 GDP to US$4 trillion with a per capita GDP of US$3,000," Hu said.

Asia's second-largest economy has maintained an incredible average annual economic growth rate of 9.4 percent over the past 25 years, and posted 9.7 percent in the first quarter of this year.

This helped push China's per capita GDP to a record high of US$1,000 last year, although it still ranks well down the global scale.

Hu said China was now the largest importer in Asia and its direct investment in the rest of Asia had been rising at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years.

"A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia," Hu said, adding that its development could not be achieved without its Asian neighbors.

"China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China," he said.

"China's economy will integrate still more closely with the Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance."

Hu repeated the government's assertion that economic development was its top priority, and stressed the importance of continuing its reform and opening-up program to the outside world.

"We persevere in reform, because we need to remove the institutional barriers that impede the development of productive forces and unleash the dynamism that exist in our society for development and creativity," he said.

"In so doing, we mainly rely on institutional and technological innovation, on expanding domestic demand and on increasing the professional aptitude of our citizens.

"In the meantime, we firmly stick to our opening-up policy, taking an active part in international economic and technology cooperation, and making contribution to China's own development and the common development in the world."

Though China has achieved impressive results in its development, many acute problems still exist, he acknowledged.

Hu highlighted overpopulation and underdeveloped productivity.

The two-day Boao forum on the tropical southern island of Hainan is being attended by 1,000 politicians, scholars and business people from Asia and other parts of the world.

Among those attending are the prime ministers of Cambodia and Pakistan and former US president George Bush.
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