LONDON -- To mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that falls on Friday, two British experts on China talked about their perceptions and expectations for the country which is now the second largest economy in the world.
British 48 Group Club Chairman Stephen Perry told Xinhua that the influence of the Chinese economy on the rest of the world was an example of the achievements of the CPC. The 48 Group is an independent grouping of businesses aimed at promoting understanding of China.
Perry said "the effect of China on the world economy is transforming and in many areas it has given an opportunity for growth for many countries that they would otherwise have had a great deal of difficulty. So China's influence on the world is great," said Perry.
He said he believed the Chinese economy had developed strongly since the opening up and reform drive started in 1978, and was now in a transitional period.
"The first 25 to 30 years were about export-led growth. That took quite a bit of time to get sorted, of implementation and activity. In the last five years or so, China has begun experimenting with moving towards a more domestic and Asian-focused economy. And now we are seeing in the next Five-Year Plan much more domestic growth, both within Asia and the developing world. So, I think the period of transition is still going on and will go on for another 15 to 20 years," he said.
It must be recognized that China is a transitional economy, so the opportunities will change for foreigners to interact with China, he said, "That is a great thing, because there is going to be lots of growth, lots of new opportunities. And for those who are adventurous, and for those who are pioneering like the 48 Group, we welcome those opportunities."
Perry said British business and government were looking to China for opportunities through cooperation, particularly in the field of finance.
Keith Bennett, committee member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist), said the road traveled by China and the CPC had been a hard one, but great achievements had been made.
"When the CPC was founded in 1921 it had only a handful of members; China itself was in a wretched condition of semi-colonial, semi-feudal backwardness and the country was ravaged by imperialists, by warlords, feudalists and by bureaucrat capitalists. Today, 90 years later, we see that China, although it still has many problems, has become the world's second largest economy," said Bennett.
"The Chinese people, hundreds of millions of them, have been lifted out of poverty and the Chinese people aspire to a higher and higher standard of living and feel proud of their country, and feel as second to none in the world. So this is a monumental change that can scarcely have been dreamt about by the founders of the CPC," said Bennett.
He hoped CPC would "continue to do what it has been doing for the last nine decades, namely to lead the struggle of the Chinese people for a better life, to develop and rejuvenate the Chinese nation."
