Digital technology to contribute to goal of sustainable growth, forum hears

Asia will drive the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic this year, with digital technology contributing to sustainable growth efforts throughout the world, a forum was told on Monday.

"Today's world is witnessing historic changes," Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told the virtual opening session of the 14th Asian Financial Forum.

"Asia may play a prominent role in the development of world civilization as it once did a few centuries ago."

Jose Vinals, group chairman of London-based Standard Chartered, shared his optimism for the region in an afternoon panel discussion on the global economic outlook. "Emerging Asia, in particularly in Asia Pacific, is leading the recovery and will continue to do so," he said.

Paul Romer, the 2018 Nobel laureate for economic sciences, told a keynote session that innovative and effective public responses enunciated "why China and Asia are showing the world the way".

Impressed by China's use of mass testing to stop the spread of COVID-19, the United States economist appreciated Asia's comparative success in containing the virus.

A mindset of innovation and experimentation is what the world needs, according to Romer. This approach has echoes in late Chairman Mao Zedong's proposal to "let one hundred flowers bloom", and what former leader Deng Xiaoping achieved on initiating special economic zones in the country, he said via video link.

Innovation is required not only in the economy but in government, he said. "The danger in the United States and Europe was that people thought they already knew what to do," Romer said.

Vinals said it may still take several years for most parts of the world to get back to pre-COVID-19 levels of economic activity, and "China is going to be a major force contributing to the global economic growth".

Guo, noting that China has set out development goals to realize socialist modernization by 2035 and turn into a great modern socialist country by 2050, said China has made great progress on green development.

"Sustainable development is the only way forward for humanity," he said.

The two-day forum is organized by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. More than 160 high-profile international speakers are discussing the theme Reshaping the World Economic Landscape, with over 5,000 participants from some 70 countries and regions expected to watch online discussions on topics ranging from economic recovery and financial technology to entrepreneurship.

Boosting transformation

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said Hong Kong has recently launched a strategic plan to support a greener and more sustainable future to boost the SAR's low-carbon transformation.

Luxembourg's Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna, citing International Monetary Fund data, said that about $12 trillion, or nearly 12 percent of global GDP, has been mobilized worldwide in the pandemic.

The world needs to focus on two essential transitions: toward green climate goals and digitalization. Luxembourg has devised a framework for sustainability bonds that it presented in September, making the initiative a first for Europe, he said.

In a panel session, Gramegna said it is important for the private sector to also embark on a path of quality development. A record high of 882 billion euros (about $1 trillion) had poured into the European sustainable fund market by the end of September 2020, marking double-digit growth in inflows.

Jin Liqun, president and chairman of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, said the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities in the global economic chain, of which the weakest link is health.

"Allocating a sufficient amount of resources to healthcare development is very important," said Jin.

Teresa Czerwinska, vice-president of the European Investment Bank, said: "Acting effectively on climate change requires a deep transformation in both production and consumption modes, a transformation that is only possible by means of development, scaling and uptake of low-carbon and digital technologies."