Foreign Direct Investment in ChinaWhat Do We Need To Know?

ECONOMIC FORUMS AND INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS

Thursday, May 2, 2002, 2:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
IMF Auditorium (Enter via the IMF Center) 
720 19th St. N.W., Washington, DC  

Transcript of the proceedings

China's economic performance in recent years has been impressive by most standards. The country was able to weather the storm of the "Asian crisis" relatively unscathed, and has sustained rapid growth in the face of last year's global downturn. These achievements have added to the visible success and economic transformation that two decades of market-oriented reforms have brought to China, including large gains in per capita income, the creation of a vibrant non-state sector, and major advances in poverty reduction.

A key contributor to this growth and transformation has been the large inflow of foreign investment in the wake of the progressive opening of the economy since the early 1980s. What have been the driving forces behind these inflows? How much have they contributed to China's economy? And what is the outlook for future capital flows and further opening up? The following panelists will address these and related issues:

Wanda Tseng
Deputy Director
Asia and Pacific Department
IMF

Yasheng Huang
Associate Professor of Business
Harvard University

Nicholas Lardy
Senior Fellow
Brookings Institution

Markus Rodlauer
Division Chief
Asia and Pacific Department
IMF

Harm Zebregs
Economist
Asia and Pacific Department
IMF