A Chinese student's speech to senior officials at the APEC meeting showed that the nation's younger generation is getting to grips with the meaning of the "new normal" and how it should be applied in China's economy.

Zhuo Ru, a fourth-year student at Beijing University, had the opportunity to present her understanding of a "youth start-up" and "innovation" in China last week on the first day of the APEC week in Manila.

"While China's economy enters a 'new normal' era, innovation is the new engine of China's development. Young people, as the most vibrant group in Chinese society, can contribute the most to the new development model," she said.

Standing out from thousands of competitors in China, Zhuo is attending the APEC meeting as a member of the Chinese APEC Voices of the Future team. This is an annual youth program that allows special teams of young leaders and educators from 21 member economies to participate in the APEC Leaders Week.

"I think it is a good opportunity. It will be very valuable if those successful CEOs give some suggestions to us," she said.

After her presentation, she received a great deal of positive feedback and suggestions. Representatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council members greatly appreciated her presentation.

Deborah Close, from Canada, said Zhuo's presentation was good and that when she was younger she once ran a technology start-up.

Tony Nowell, from New Zealand, told Zhuo that cooperation is very important for business success, and a good mentor will help young people do better business and to innovate more.

Zhuo said that she enjoyed hearing the insights of CEOs at the event, such as David Plouffe from Uber and Jack Ma from Alibaba. She said that this was the most impressive part of her APEC experience so far.

"It is a good experience for me to participate in the APEC process. No matter what I do in the future, the international view is very important. It is an increasingly internationalized world. All companies need cross-cultural talents," said Zhuo.

Contact the writers at zhangyan@chinadaily.com.cn