China's Agenda - A CGTN Europe Special

New quality productive forces.

This was one of the key messages from the annual Two Sessions in Beijing. The term, coined by China's President Xi Jinping in September 2023 during a local visit, is viewed in the sessions as key to maintaining and enhancing the quality of China's growth. 

In wide-ranging discussions on everything from continued economic growth and upgrading to an increased desire for high quality opening up, this new approach to innovation was front and center. China's role on the world stage was also in the spotlight, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisting the country will be a force for peace in spite of lingering U.S. misconceptions about China.

In this special program -  China's Agenda - CGTN Europe examines the country's innovative future and what impact it will have on global relationships in the years to come.

Host Juliet Mann speaks to a panel of global experts about China's economic modernization and what is described as "new quality productive forces" - the innovation that will transform the economy both within and beyond China's borders.

David Mahon, Founder and Executive Chairman of Mahon China Investment Management tells Juliet how the tech sector will be a significant component of China's plan for 5 percent growth in 2024.  Bert Hofman, former China Director of the World Bank and now Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore examines the desire for increased foreign investment in China as companies work out how they might fit into a modernized China.

And Marsela Musabelliu, Executive Director at the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies, explains why the world's smaller nations especially welcome China's approach to upgrading its industry. The panel also addresses China's role in an increasingly globalized world.

The programme also includes insights from CEO of Mercedes Benz Group Ola Kallenius, Steven Allen Barnett – the IMF's Senior Resident Representative in China and Stefano Stefanini, former Diplomatic Advisor to the Italian President, as well as former ambassadors to China from Chile and Sri Lanka, Jorge Heine and Palitha Kohona.

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