Chinese economy well-positioned with future-oriented vision: Austrian expert

VIENNA — The Chinese economy is performing well and despite the presence of some issues is well-positioned for the future, an Austrian expert said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The Chinese government is handling the situation well, and has everything under control, while there are economic issues, such as potentially in the real estate sector and in the urban-rural dynamic where new balances must be struck, said Walter Koren, the head of the international department of the powerful Austrian Economic Chambers.

It has shown particularly over the past ten to 15 years that while China has experienced incredible economic growth on the one hand, it has also found a good balance, and carried out many major infrastructure projects, he said.

In this process it has succeeded in developing both its urban areas as well as rural regions.

At present China is undergoing a shift in focus from an export-driven economy to one powered by domestic consumers, coupled with a growth shift from a quantitative to qualitative nature, in the direction of high technology, which in his opinion is "very positive," Koren said.

He said there exists in China a kind of "drive" and a future-oriented way of thinking that is not always present in Europe, and this forms his optimism going forward.

It has to manage a massive population of over 1.3 billion people, but on the other hand also has a key role in global issues, and is part of "grand strategies" such as the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the expert.

Koren said in Europe things are always done on a small scale, in the form of "many small things," but China engages projects of a much larger scale.

This is of particular importance for countries of the "emerging world" that have to be better and more strategically assisted in their development.

One can criticize the approach at times, he argued, but overall it is evidence of a "grand strategy," which puts development as the main focus.

Another key point of China's approach is its strong emphasis on innovation, which serves as further proof of a future-oriented viewpoint.

With innovation one can solve many challenges, Koren said.