CDF 2024 attendees confident in China's economic development

The China Development Forum (CDF) 2024 was held on March 24-25 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Held under the theme “The Continuous Development of China”, the CDF 2024 facilitated constructive exchanges on key and cutting-edge issues related to China’s development and global development, and demonstrated the advantages and vitality of China’s continuous economic development to the world.

Sean Green, President and CEO of BMW Group Region China told People’s Daily Online that trade-ins of consumer goods, including vehicles, will be a welcome policy in the auto industry, which will stimulate consumer behavior again.

“I am still confident this year,” Green said. “We still see China opening up. We’ve taken advantage of that with our shareholding in the local joint venture BMW Brilliance (BBA). So, 75 percent of shareholding that we have through BMW, and we continue to see that.”

Green said BMW just opened an insurance company last year, which is a great example of establishing new businesses in China. “So opening up continues,” he said.

“We have huge confidence that growth will continue in China, but also that China will contribute to the growth of the world,” said Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone.

“China is a market of opportunity. It's a huge market. It's an extraordinarily sophisticated market. It's a market where we innovate locally in China for China and the rest of the world,” de Saint-Affrique added.

Benjamin Harburg, Managing Partner of MSA Capital, told People’s Daily Online that he believes in the growth of the China market, the power of Chinese consumers, and China’s ability to become a more domestic consumption-led economy, which will lead to thrilling investment opportunities for MSA Capital as an investment fund.

Hosted by the Development Research Centre (DRC) of the State Council and organized by the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), the CDF is the first major state-level international conference after the "Two Sessions".

By Sheng Chuyi, Guan Meng, Zhao Chen (People's Daily Online)

(Ye Jingyi, as an intern, also contributed to this video.)