China and Finacial Crisis: "We are just like kindergarten kids who aren't affected by college entrance examinations because they are not in the game yet." Says Wang Yuan, director-general of the Department of Foreign Affairs in China Development Bank. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Yang Yong]

More than 200 leading experts from around the world convened in Waterloo, Ontario to discuss the political and economic impacts of China's rise on the world stage at a two-day annual conference. A parallel session was held in Beijing on Sunday morning, part of which was simulcast between the two cities.

CIGI's annual conference is initiated and hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The theme of this year is 'China in the Shifting World Order.' Via speeches and discussions, participants explored the ramifications of China's emergence as a world power and how international governance structures around the world are adjusting to this new force.

Professor John Whalley, FRSC (Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada), one of Canada's pre-eminent experts in global economics, presided over the Beijing session.

During the conference, distinguished guests were invited to address speech and join discussions on China's economic issues.

On 'Sustainability of China's Growth', Li Shantong, a senior researcher with the Development Research Center, is optimistic about China's economy. She says China has maintained a high speed of economic development since 2002. This year, China's economy has been in generally good shape despite the global financial chaos. Since there is still high domestic demand for housing and infrastructure, and a steady increase in salaries, the market is full of potential.

However, Wang Yuan, director-general of the Department of Foreign Affairs in China Development Bank, spoke of her worries.

"Given the backdrop of the world economic crisis, China's economy will inevitably be affected."

"We are not allowed to introduce a lot of new financial products and we are not allowed to do many trades with our counterparts. That's why, for this round of financial crises, we may not be directly affected. But we are still backward. We are just like kindergarten kids who aren't affected by college entrance examinations because they are not in the game yet. If we aren't badly affected, is it a good thing or a bad thing? We may have our own problems to solve, so we should not be too optimistic."

Experts also shared their opinions about poverty and inequality in China. By comparing household incomes as a proportion of total resources in China and Japan, Professor Yue Ximing from Renmin University analyzed the tax revenue and composition in China, and the role of public expenditures in inequality.

"The current fiscal policy enlarges, not reduces the differences in income distribution among Chinese residents."

In conjunction with the conference, CIGI issued several new publications illustrating its growing research related to China. Topics include China's new economic diplomacy, the political and economic impacts of China's ascendancy in Africa, higher education, China's role as a bridge for expanding regional and world trade, and poverty studies by young Chinese scholars.

CIGI will also launch a new book examining the position of China and other leading emerging powers in the potential transformation of the G8 and other aspects of global governance.

This is the fourth annual conference of CIGI, an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges.

Yang Yong, CRI Webcast