Business leaders hail Xi's pledges on development

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping's speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC on Thursday has drawn recognition and support from domestic and foreign business leaders, who viewed it as an encouraging message that China's development will create new opportunities for the world and the country will continue to be a major force in driving global growth.

The emphasis on China pursuing peaceful development, as well as its resolve to promote high-quality growth and to further deepen reform and opening-up has further boosted confidence in the world's second-largest economy as the country's top leadership pledged to make more notable and substantive progress toward building a strong and modern socialist country in all respects, experts and business leaders said.

As the country embarked on a new development journey, the remarks by Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, underscored the trend that the Chinese economy will not only grow in size but also evolve into an innovative and rules-based market economy that will bring benefits to the common prosperity of the world, they added.

Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that Xi's speech holds great significance as it not only announced that China has achieved its first centenary goal－to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eradicate absolute poverty－but also laid out the major tasks of the Party on the way to realizing the second centenary goal.

"It is not only about achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also about promoting the peaceful development of the world and building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

Zhang said that new success stories are expected to emerge in China's efforts to boost its innovative ability to further unleash the potential of its productivity, major progress in improving the country's rule of law and modern governance, and efforts to promote common prosperity after eradicating absolute poverty.

Business executives viewed Xi's speech as an encouraging sign that China will continue to develop its economy by deepening reform and opening-up, promoting high-quality development and improving its business environment.

"During the past century, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China's business environment has been optimized, Chinese consumers have played an increasingly important role in the global economy and China has become a major force in leading global economic development," said Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of Thailand's TCP Group, which owns the energy drink brand Red Bull.

"Thanks to the infinite opportunities created by the CPC's unwavering reform and opening-up, my father, the founder of TCP and the inventor of Red Bull, Mr. Chaleo Yoovidhya, was proud to return to his ancestral homeland of Hainan province as China's reform and opening-up era took off and establish the first Red Bull factory in the country in 1993," he said.

Liu Guoping, chairman of the China branch of Orix Group, a Japanese financial services group, said that China's reform and opening-up under the leadership of the CPC has enabled the company to develop rapidly in the country over the past 50 years.

"China's supportive economic and trade policies, especially in the areas of trade in financial services, have offered global companies more access, prompting Orix to add more investment and expand its market presence across the country," he said.

Xi's call to implement the new development philosophy, foster a new development paradigm and build up the country's strength in science and technology has also boosted business confidence over the prospects for the Chinese economy powered by innovation, technological breakthroughs and new types of business.

"It was moving and inspiring to hear President Xi's speech. China has made tremendous progress into a technological powerhouse and the digital revolution, characterized by the rapid maturation of technologies such as AI, 5G, cloud computing and blockchain, will profoundly transform our country in various ways by bolstering productivity," said Da Hongfei, CEO of Onchain, a blockchain technology startup.

Shao Changnan, chairman of Dalian, Liaoning province-based DHI-DCW Group Co Ltd, a State-owned manufacturer of machinery equipment, said that Xi's speech was encouraging and the company will further accelerate the upgrading of its technologies to produce more intelligent industrial equipment and contribute to China's target to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Zhang Feng, CEO of Dmall, a Chinese fresh grocery digital platform, said that the company will strive to seize opportunities emerging in the global development of the digital economy and sharpen its advantages in the digitalization of retail sales to contribute to the country's high-quality development and meet the people's desire for a better life.

Zhong Nan and Wang Zhuoqiong contributed to this story.