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More than 200 scholars from home and abroad explored ways for China as well as the world to implement sustainable development at the three-day 21st Century Forum, which started in Beijing on Monday. China Daily covers the main points from the participants.
Samuel R Berger
Former national security adviser to US president
Too many Americans look at the Chinese dragon and see only sharp teeth and scales, and too many Chinese look at the American eagle and see only fierce eyes and strong claws. We cannot just hope the win-win path will simply emerge. We must choose to clear the way. This means pursuing bilateral communication to improve mutual understanding. It means assuring greater transparency to clarify each other's motives and perspectives since openness is the foundation of trust. We'll be far more likely to make room for each other in the world we share, and the dragon and the eagle can change their views of each other and turn towards new and brighter horizons.
Helmut Schmidt
Former chancellor of Germany
Some Western politicians and intellectuals believe they are morally entitled to reproach or even castigate the Chinese in regard of democracy and human rights. But they lack respect for Chinese civilization, which has evolved over several millenniums. They also lack an awareness of the terrible shadows that historically hang over the laborious development of Western civilizations.
I do believe that the stability provided by the present political system is expedient and beneficial for the Chinese nation -- and for its Asian neighbors as well.
Pierre Mauroy
Former prime minister of France
The most industrialized countries have a fundamental responsibility. This particularly applies to the EU, but also to the US, which nevertheless shows some reluctance.
Thanks to the efforts of Scandinavian countries and Germany, strong commitments have been taken in favor of sustainable development that the EU must enforce. For example, as far as the sustainable management of natural resources is concerned, Europe has set itself a more ambitious target than the one found in the compromise solution of Johannesburg signed in 2002.
Sustainable development must be based on a just world order, international cooperation and a just sharing of resources. This will lead to peace and prosperity. We, national and local leaders, must work for the establishment of what I would like to call a "new social contract" that will reconcile social justice, economic development and environmental protection.
Mahathir Bin Mohamad
Former prime minister of Malaysia
For sustainable development to take place, a degree of sophistication, and an understanding of the workings of the economy among a large majority of people, is required. It takes time for people to understand the forces that influence economic performance. And so it takes time for a country to achieve sustainable development.
Memories of the past stand in the way. But we should have learnt by now that cooperation is better than confrontation. We really cannot have war between any pair or group of us. And I don't think anyone of us is considering war. So why not disregard or put aside the differences and get on with cooperating with each other?
Joaquim Alberto Chissano
Former president of Mozambique
We are trapped in a vicious circle, a helix that pulls us downwards, deeper and deeper into poverty, and prevents us from developing. Poverty is the inability to use resources to improve the quality of life. But it is possible to break this cycle. It takes a vision of development that is people-centered, inclusive, pro-poor; a vision that is based on the local realities and that takes advantage of local knowledge and innovation capacities; a vision that starts from the country's potential to solve global issues and that strives to create a culture of ingenuity, science and technology. In Mozambique we have followed this path and the first results are encouraging: in the last five years the absolute poverty level has been reduced by 15 percent -- from 69 to 54 percent.
Chen Qingtai
Research fellow of Development Research Center of the State Council
In economic growth, we tend to place quantity and speed as top priorities. Instead we should simultaneously pursue efficiency through raising the quality of our labor force.
Lawrence J Lau
Vice chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Speculative asset price bubbles, if allowed to run the full course, are capable of doing long-term damage to an economy. The government should try to take measures to prevent or moderate "irrational exuberance." Investment in education and human capital is the long-term solution.
Zhou Dadi
Director of the Institute of Energy Research under the State Development and Reform Commission
As far as China is concerned, it's rather hard to depend on continuous coal exploitation. It's also a tough task to explore other alternative resources. Therefore, sustainability in resource strategy is our sole option, which should emphasize conservation above all else. To build a resource-thrifty society, we must change our mindset.
We should not encourage luxury consumption, such as glass buildings that look great from the outside but consume significantly more energy. The market should guide these investment choices, but the government must intervene. Frugality should be a virtue.
Muhammad Akram Sheikh
Deputy chairman of Planning Commission, Pakistan
We must acknowledge that the footprints of environmental degradation and pollution transcend national boundaries, and its mitigation also has regional and international dimensions. While a shared vision for world development should recognize interdependence and avoidance of conflict and hegemonistic approaches, we should understand the earth is the common heritage of all mankind and that development must benefit all in an inclusive and just manner.
Gao Shangquan
President of China Society of Economic Reform
Under the current system, government officials tend to pursue achievements that are short-term in nature and often induce heavy pollution. Allocation of investment could be better determined by market forces so that there will be no disconnection between pricing and cost, the scarcity of resources can be accurately reflected in keeping pricing and waste reduced to the minimum.
Li Yining
Professor of Peking University
As conditions deteriorate in rural areas, farmers swarm to cities, which exacerbate employment in urban areas. To coordinate urban and rural growth, we must change our mode of economic development to incorporate the need of farmers.
Zmarak Shalizi
Senior research manager of Development Research Group in the World Bank
In its transformation from a primarily rural to a primarily urban economy, China needs to make sure its investment strategies are correct. For example, in terms of energy consumption, the difference between existing standards of housing and available standards in other parts of the world is enormous. The amount of energy that can be saved by enforcing new standards would total Germany's entire energy consumption.
Daniel Dudek
Chief economist of Environmental Defense, the US
China has more room to improve efficiency compared to that of the US, which also has a long way to go in comparison to the efficiency of the EU and Japan. However, China's biggest problem is poverty alleviation, it faces the challenge of developing a harmonious xiaokang (well-off) society.
(China Daily September 7, 2005)
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