Speech by Consul General Ong Siew Gay at the Singapore Management University – Fudan University Global Forum on “Development and Governance”, Fudan University, Shanghai, 8 April 2014

Professor Zhu Chouwen

Deputy Director, Foreign Affairs Office, Fudan University

Professor Arnoud De Meyer,

President, Singapore Management University

Dr. Liu Thai Ker,

Founding Chairman of the Advisory Board,

Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen

          It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning. The theme of today’s forum – Development and Governance – is a very broad one.  The discussions and parallel seminars cover a wide range of topics including economic liberalization and reform, financial sector innovation, public housing and other social issues like ageing and social integration.  At first blush, they seem even disparate.  In fact, they are closely inter-related.  Let me explain why.

2        Over the past few years, the world we live in has undergone rapid and profound changes at several levels.  At the global level, the strategic, economic and political centre of gravity is decisively shifting from the West to the East.  Of course, this trend has been underway for some years.  Observers of international relations have realized since the 1990s that the volume of trans-Pacific trade was outstripping the volume of trans-Atlantic trade, reflecting the shift in economic activities from West to East.  But this shift really came into the fore in public consciousness after the global financial crisis triggered by the Lehman bond crisis.  A changing world order is upon us.

3        At the regional level, one key component of the changing world order is the modernization of emerging Asian economies.  According to the Asian Development Bank, the share of global GDP generated by Asia and the Pacific rose by 8% to reach 36% between 2000 and 2012, by PPP terms.  Europe’s share fell by 4% to 26%, and the share of North America fell by 5% to 23%.  Over the last five years, 10 of the region’s economies expanded by an average of at least 7%, despite the global economic crisis.  And services continued to grow in importance, generating at least half of GDP in two-thirds of regional economies.

4        This is a region that accounts for 55% of global population.  Northeast Asia alone has a population of 1.5 billion people, while Southeast Asia has 600 million.  The potential for urban growth is enormous.  Migration from rural areas to cities has been driven largely by the development of industry and services.  In the PRC and Thailand, for example, the proportion of people living in urban areas doubled to 53% and 45% respectively between 1990 and 2012.  Asia now is home to 12 of the world’s 23 biggest cities and eight of the 10 most densely-populated cities.  But it is also an ageing population, with long-term implications for growth.[1]

5        Within the Asia Pacific, China’s continued growth and transformation is a key facet of the region’s history of modernization.  A history that started with Japan leading the flying geese pattern of industrialization, followed by the Asian tigers in the 1960s and 1970s, and finally with China’s reform and opening-up in 1978.

6        Since the inauguration of the new Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has sent clear signals of its resolve to push ahead with structural reforms. 

7        The domestic challenges are enormous – widening income disparity; developmental gaps between regions; combating corruption; environmental degradation; and the need to rebalance the economy away from one driven by investment and low-cost manufacturing to one driven by consumption and high-value added activities particularly modern services.

8        There is no doubt of the vision of China’s leaders.  They are clear about what they want to do and strong signals have already been sent during the 3^rd Plenum of the 18^th Party Congress and this year’s “Two Sessions”.

9        Within Shanghai, the establishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is a manifestation of this commitment to deepening reforms, promoting institutional changes and letting the market play a decisive role.  The FTZ by itself is only 28.78 square kilometres.  But if its experimentation with stream-lining approval procedures for investments, transforming governmental functions and liberalization of the financial sector prove successful, its implications will certainly go beyond Shanghai. 

10      At the societal level, growth and development in Asia will be accompanied by profound domestic change.  Driven by urbanisation and a growing middle-class, public governance will face new challenges.  As the traditional engines of growth slow, policymakers envisage urbanization to form a major driving force behind domestic demand.

11      The recent urbanization plan unveiled by the State Council envisions 60% of China’s 1.4 billion population to be urban residents by 2020.  There are indications that by 2030, there will be as many as 1 billion people living in Chinese cities.  China’s rapid urbanisation and development will invariably have a profound impact on its society.

12      A growing middle-class of residents in emerging urban centres will have greater and more sophisticated expectations on governance.  With greater rural-urban migration, huge flows of migrant workers into urban centres will impose a severe strain on public resources.  Better integration will be required to head off social tensions. 

13      All these challenges will continue to take place against the broader backdrop of globalization and the emergence and continually evolving new media environment.  Governments in this New Media Age will need to grapple with the challenges posed by the advent of social networking tools, commonly known as the TGIF phenomenon, meaning the Twitter, Google, iPhone, and Facebook.  In an urban environment with individuals highly-connected to the new media, information flows will be rapid.  Public officials will have to be nimble and agile, and responsive to public demands and breaking news.  This is certainly true of China, as it is of Singapore.

14      Indeed, despite our differences in geographical and population size, and generally in our national conditions, Singapore and China share common challenges including an ageing population, a widening income gap, rising public expectations as well as maintaining cohesiveness in increasingly diverse societies amidst a challenging new media environment.

15      Singapore therefore recognizes that there is greater room for mutual learning as China continues in its astounding growth, catching up and overtaking others in many areas.  We are as interested in learning from China’s success as we are in sharing our own developmental experience.  

16      It is within this context that we can view today’s forum.  Under the broad theme of “Development and Governance”, scholars and officials will explore and exchange views on a range of topics.  These will touch on the future direction of China’s growth and development, and the challenges this brings to governance in a highly-urbanized environment.  With this spirit of mutual learning and sharing, I wish everyone an enjoyable forum ahead.

17      Let me also take the opportunity to congratulate SMU for their success in putting together this very timely and meaningful event.

18      Thank you.

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[1] Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2013 (www.adb.org/publications/key-indicators-asia-and-pacific-2013)

(9 April 2014)