|
|
|
(Source: sg.xinhuanet.com)
|
Welcome Address by SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer
at the Inaugural SMU China Forum
13 November 2013, Wednesday, 9.00am
Mochtar Riady Auditorium, Level 5
SMU Administration Building
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Mr Ho Kwon Ping, SMU Chairman
His Excellency Duan Jielong, China’s Ambassador to Singapore
Our Keynote Speaker Professor Justin Lin and panel members
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning and a very warm welcome to the inaugural SMU China Forum.
We are all aware that China’s emergence as a political heavyweight and an economic superpower has wide and far-reaching implications. It is a country with a long history and many different faces. Change in China is taking place at great speed.
The new leadership of China is faced with a myriad of complex challenges. These include rapid urbanisation, maintaining social stability, strengthening the social safety net, narrowing the income gap, an ageing population, and restructuring its economy to sustain growth.
SMU China Forum
Against this backdrop, the SMU China Forum has been organised to provide business leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and researchers with a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of some of the influences and trends that are shaping China’s growth and development. It aims to enable participants of this Forum, as the theme suggests, to "Be China Ready," by coming together to share, discuss and debate ideas and issues about China that are current and relevant.
With these objectives in mind, we have with us today a stellar line-up of scholars and thought leaders who will share with us their valuable insights on various aspects of China. They are Professor Justin Lin from Peking University who was formerly the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank; Professor Peng Xizhe from Fudan University; Professor Gan Li from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics; Ms Diana Tsui, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Diversity, KPMG China & CEO of KPMG Foundation; and Mr Lim Ming Yan, President and Group CEO of CapitaLand Limited.
The topics they will discuss range from factors that have contributed to China's extraordinary growth, potential challenges and opportunities arising from its demographic trends, household income and consumption, social investment and ageing in China.
|
