Perry Wong,
Senior Research Economist, Milken Institute
Moderator:
James Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, Auburn University; Senior Fellow, Milken Institute
Steven Green, former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, tells the audience that the business community needs to counteract the fear of globalization being spread by some politicians. At left is panelist Maria Boyazny.
The session, led by James Barth from Auburn University and a Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute, contrasted the domestic and foreign policies in China, India and the United States. In particular, the session highlighted the shift from fixed-asset investments toward a more internal consumption led growth in China′s five-year plan.
Maria Boyazny of Siguler Guff & Co., expressed concerns with the levels of non-performing loans in the Chinese banking system going forward. State-controlled banks have financed overinvestment in certain sectors and might be subject to higher default rates as growth shifts to other areas of the economy.
Frank Sixt of Hutchison Whampoa addressed the interactions of domestic and foreign policies. He emphasized that the sheer size of India's and China's domestic policy agendas actually shaped their foreign policies, as exemplified by their growing need of commodities and energy products.
Ramesh Vangal, chairman and founder of the Katra Group, placed India's influence into perspective, suggesting that India offers a counterbalance to China′s emergence in the region. India development has been primarily led by domestic consumption and is mainly focused on the service sector. Even more contrasting is the evolution of India's democracy. With a freer and more pluralistic society, India has been able to show more progress in developing domestic institutions, such as working capital markets and its accounting system, thus balancing China′s central planning and non-democratic system.
The former U.S. ambassador, Steven Green, placed more emphasis on the U.S. political processes. In particular, he argued for the need of the business community to educate the American public on the real effects of a globalized economy, in an effort to counteract the fear being spread out by some political players.
Perry Wong, a senior research economist with the Milken Institute, provided insight into the strong regional and global integration processes. He described China not only as providing resources, such as labor, but also an important re-exporter for the region. Wong discussed the impact of a potential revaluation of the Yuan, not only on the region but also on the global companies present in the Chinese economy.
The panelists approached various aspects of how the different economic and political processes could evolve, with particular emphasis on how their political processes might shape world order.
Global Conference 2013
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, philanthropist Bill Gates and Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless discuss advancing prosperity in Africa.
