The following is the full text of the speech
by Mayor Han Zheng in meeting with the delegates to the
China Daily CEO Roundtable in Shanghai.
I believe everybody in the room has some knowledge about the past and
present of Shanghai. Under the guidance of the central government,
Shanghai is considering its plans.
Next year, our country will launch the
11th Five-Year Plan (2006-11). Shanghai is also set to draft
its social and economic development plan for the period.
The general goal of our city is to become
an international economic, financial, trade and shipping
centre. This goal was tailored for Shanghai by the central
government and matches the theme of this roundtable - 2020:
The World's Shanghai.
We designed two stages for the achievement
of our goals.
Making Shanghai
a world city
In the last 15 years Shanghai has leapt
forward and positioned itself as the gateway to China. Now
the city is caught between its forward momentum and the
challenges it must overcome.
Can it - will it - become one of the world's
centres for finance, commerce and shipping? Will it elevate
itself into a hub and a gateway, for China and for Asia
Pacific?
"It seems to me that today's topic is about
a dream, the dream of a global metropolis," said China Daily's
Editor-in-Chief Zhu Ling at the opening of the newspaper's
12th CEO Roundtable in Shanghai on Friday.
"Shanghai has surprised the world with
tremendous achievement along the way building itself into
a centre for the world economy, finance, shipping and trade."
More than 30 business and government executives
gathered at Shanghai's Hyatt Hotel for a discussion on "The
World's Shanghai by 2020."
"In the last 15 years we have seen a lot
of changes in Shanghai," said Edward Tse, managing director
of greater China for consultant Booz Allen Hamilton in his
opening speech. "Pudong has changed into a very modern living
and working environment."
Shanghai's own momentum has created challenges
that the city now has to overcome.
"A lot of people have the confidence that
Shanghai will continue to do well," Tse said. "The question
is how do we get it there? How can we as the various stake
holders from the business community as well as the government
work together?"
The city has a lot to offer, Tse said. It
has a reasonable transportation and infrastructure network
with a large port facility, comparatively ordinary off-market
conditions, access to human resources, a location at the
mouth of the Yangtze River Delta, financial institutions
and a comparatively pro-business government with a reasonable
degree of transparency.
At the same time, Shanghai has embraced outside
influences faster than almost any other city in the mainland.
Look at fast food.
James Chu, senior vice-president for the
McDonald's China Development Company, said market penetration
of fast food in Shanghai is over 59 per cent, similar to
the 65 per cent rate in developed countries. By comparison,
other places in China have allowed a 20 per cent penetration
rate for restaurants such as McDonald's.
Now, as it becomes a more cosmopolitan centre,
Shanghai is at a crossroad.
"The per capita GDP has increased significantly
over the last five to 10 years," Tse said. "Today it is
roughly about US$6,000, depending on what statistic you
believe."
"Shanghai should focus on achieving something
like US$8,000 per capita GDP by the year 2008," he said.
One way to accomplish this goal is to bring
in more foreign investors in specific fields.
"The Shanghai government recognizes its limitations
on its land, on its resources, on its environment," he said.
"They believe they have to turn their attention to knowledge
intensive, high value added, lower resource utilization
and lower environmental pollution types of business."
Two areas that can play a big role are advanced
manufacturing and high-end services such as finance, trade
and information.
Another executive that called for the development
of the service sector was the chairman of Carrefour, the
French retail giant with 62 hypermarkets across China.
By Luo Man
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