China's upgraded economy, an engine for world growth

Last year, the service sector's annual output topped that of the industrial sector for the first time, marking historic progress in the country's economic adjustment. Restructuring industries and State-owned enterprises in China has become another focus for Davos discussions.

To improve growth efficiency, the old input and consumption model based on material resources will be replaced by one based on technological innovation, raising workforce quality and system reforms. Addressing talent and innovation gaps, as well as incorporating sustainability into China's growth models are also on the agenda of the WEF.

The shift of priority to improve growth quality by pursuing green and sustainable development and pushing forward industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization, will create a large-scale fresh market for the world and also encourage Chinese companies to invest overseas and seek economic and technological cooperation.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce point to the trend. In the first 10 months of 2013, China's non-financial foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 20 percent. In 2012, China's FDI increased 17.6 percent to a record $87.8 billion, making it the third biggest source of FDI following the United States and Japan. The trend and impact of Chinese outbound investment will be debated at Davos.

By the end of 2015, China aims to lower its energy consumption by 16 percent per GDP unit from 2010 levels and lower its carbon emissions per GDP unit by 17 percent. New energy and strategic industries are expected to emerge in the country and will require international cooperation.

Concerned about China's drive to go green, participants at the WEF meetings will also discuss the implications of China's slower growth and the long-term effects of greater resource efficiency.

While various elements in the global financial market and commodity supplies as well as uncertainties in the endeavor to reshape world trade and investment rules threaten the global economic recovery, China's upgraded economy will serve as an engine for world growth as well as a stabilizer amid challenges and risks, echoing a topic at Davos: "China takes center stage."