By Charles Onunaiju
The 17th annual meeting of the new champions of the World Economic Forum held in Dalian city, Liaoning province of the People’s Republic of China last month was an important turning point for global cooperation on innovation. Coming against the background of difficult global geo-political realities, with loud echoes of protectionism and inward nationalism especially by major western powers – the U.S and the EU, the meeting at Dalian themed “Innovating at a scale”, was a high mark of the free human nature to coalesce around inclusions and towards the building of a community of shared future for mankind. Chinese premier Li Qiang who addressed the gatherings of the global new champions on behalf of the Chinese government set the pace with incisive speech, outlining China’s enabling contributions to the global eco system that advances development and innovations. He reiterated President Xi Jinping famous line that “innovation drives development and innovation shapes the future. The China’s 15th five-year plan which took off this year admits global geo-political challenges and fragile world economic button to the right track of a good start, having withstood challenges, and demonstrated strong resilience and with a promising trajectory. According to Premier Li Qiang the outlook of its trajectories already exhibit four distinct features in its overall performance. Having grown at 5% in the first quarter with sound momentum underwritten by improvement in people’s life, growth in corporate profits, moderate rebound in prices, stability is certainly at the center of it all. For an economy of such scale of 20.6 trillion dollars, a steady and healthy growth despite shocks of global shortages and supply chain disruption brings benefit to the world. A significant economy of such an enormous scale which delivers to an uncertain world, not only certainty but plays the vital role of a scale harbor is a reliable anchor to stability and clarity to what is possible.
As a hub of rapidly emerging new technologies, China’s roles in blazing the path to innovation, an obvious compass to how the future of the world would be navigated and shaped, the renewed energy and strides of the Chinese economy has enormous implications for a global innovation ecosystem that is both sustainable and broadly inclusive. The dynamism of what Premier Li Qiang described as “China’s supersized market” to unleash demand potential to catalyze new consumption is a boom to the world, struggling to overcome the strains and sluggishness of new stagnant demand and the frigidity of traditional consumption, premier Li Qiang pointed to the extent of dynamism of the Chinese market where over 530 million express deliveries are handled per-day, outnumbering the total of all countries in the world combined. Such premium of dizzying diversity and high growth offers the world an unprecedented market scale. While China strives on the path to shared prosperity, it integrates deeper to the world through opening further and wider. As the world second largest import market for 17 years in a straight, its current designation as the market of the world is not a political luster. In the first five months of this year, important growth stood at 20.5%, considerably higher than export growth premier Li Qiang explained that the trends towards integration of the Chinese economy to the world is not a happen stance. In his own words; “For China, integrated development with the world has never been an expediency but a strategic decision made in line with the trend of history and based on our own development philosophy”, and added “in pursuing development, China does not seek to move faster by going alone, rather, want win-win cooperation with all in the world, so that we can go far together”. Stability, innovation, dynamism and integration, key words identified by premier Li Qiang as essential features of Chinese economy in its 15th five-year plan road map brings to the world, stamina, drive and bridge to harness growth potential, shape its trajectories through innovation and underwrite its steady gaiety by building bridges across all intersection of human endeavors.
After elaborately underlining the nexus between innovation and China’s rapid development issuing from a deliberate nurture of an ecosystem, where innovation actually thrives, premier Li pointed that it “has played an irreplaceable and pivotal role and further opined that “in a broader global economy it stands as a vital pathway to counter downward pressure and reignite growth momentum. He called for deepening of connectivity and collaboration to build greater synergy for innovation.
Premier pushed back at western spins of “China shock 2.0”, framed as flooding the world with cheap hi-techs products and instead clarified “China opportunity 2.0” where China’s technological advancement open new markets and investment opportunities for the world.
He further dismissed the more insidious western narrative that the country’s industrial competitiveness comes primarily from government subsidies. In fact, he offered candidly that Chinese government cannot afford massive subsidies and gather attribute competitiveness to China’s complete industrial supply chain, a massive market and a sound innovation ecosystem, with Chinese steady and stable growth trajectories, obviously powered by a sound innovation ecosystem, countries across the world can leverage an open market and mutual exchanges, deliberately built around China’s development trajectory.
Africa is the region with the largest number of countries with Zero-tariff access to the China’s “super-sized” market and the implications for a region previously shackled by single commodity economic structure is obvious diversification of her export products and a consequent transformation of her economic structure. China has been variously described as Africa’s most historic opportunity to leverage emerging and innovative technologies and leap frog development beyond the traditional labors of the early struggles for a breakthrough. China has borne the brunt of pioneering early start, beyond the traditional western paradigm and demonstrated what is possible in non-western trajectory of development requiring originality, focus and perseverance.
The all round momentum in China. Africa cooperation through such mechanisms as the forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC), Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) have already given effect to efforts at closing the gaps in Africa historic deficits in infrastructure connectivity and production capacity, leading to regional integration and building of economies of scale. Africa’s response to the emerging global trends of openness and innovation for which China is a key driver, should be bold, targeted and nuanced with a view to optimize an outcome of tangible and aggregate inputs to Africa’s struggle for renaissance and people-centered modernization.
The Dalian conference of the “New Champions” by its intents, purposes and outcomes is a global manifesto containing the clarion to mainstream innovation as the irreducible minimum to guarantee sustainable and inclusive development.
Mr. Onunaiju writes from the Centre for China Studies, Abuja.
