The World Economic Development Declaration will contribute to establishing principles that can serve as a guide for the world's economies to follow, according to Klaus Schwab, executive chairman and founder of the World Economic Forum.

"Paradoxically... we, as a global community, have yet to define the rules of our globality," Schwab said yesterday at the ongoing World Economic Development Declaration Conference in Zhuhai.

"We have yet to establish the framework for our common global destiny, which integrates the political, economic and social dimensions of development."

The declaration released yesterday is a "timely and much needed initiative," he said, adding such a process should be "bold and innovative."

The nine principles embodied in the Zhuhai Declaration are an excellent platform for a more comprehensive framework of global rules.

"What we need most in the 21st century is a generally accepted understanding of how different people, different nations, are to deal with each other; how the management of global interdependence really should work," he said.

Globalization has brought improved economic welfare to hundred of millions of people. Yet, there are those who are not integrated into the system, and there are also those who, despite being part of the globalization process, are disadvantaged by it.

Schwab pointed out that globalization in the long term is irreversible.

Globalization not only creates interconnectedness, but is also indispensable as an engine of global economic growth and social progress.

That China is hosting this conference is most fitting, he said.

"It is a reflection of China's stature as the world's largest developing country and as a fully integrated member of the international system, a country committed to, and mindful of, its global role and responsibilities," he said.

The meeting in Zhuhai is a platform which provides a framework not just for dialogue but also for a process of jointly defining the challenge, determining objectives and, if possible, creating solutions, he said.

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