Global CEOs reiterate their faith in Chinese economy

Global CEOs attending the China Development Forum currently underway in Beijing said they have a better sense of policy direction, and are upbeat about the country's outlook.

"I'm a big fan of what's going on in China. If you had faith in China's potential 12 months ago, then that it has hit some bumps on the road, which I believe are all short-term, should not impact your view on the long-term potential of the economy," said Dennis Nally, chairman of professional services group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the sideline of the forum.

The 13th Five-year Plan shows China's commitment to opening-up, reform and focus on creating comparative advantages. "It's one that will continue to provide clarity," he said.

The latest PwC Global CEOs Survey found that China was identified by 34 percent of CEOs surveyed as the most important market for their business prospect over the next 12 months, second only to the United States (39 percent) and much higher than Germany (19 percent).The annual survey covered 1,409 CEOs from 83 countries.

"If many parts of the world followed what I described as 'best practices' in China: clear goals, accountability and others, it would be best practices for them too," he said.

Hans-Paul Burkner, global chairman of Boston Consulting Group, said global CEOs are attending the forum because Chinese market is so important. They feel that they have to understand what's going on here, and to get a first-hand sense of the discussion here.

They are also coming here to meet CEOs of Chinese companies, because a lot of them are becoming leading players in global market.

Burkner said China's slowdown should be "put in context". Though growth rate has slowed, in absolute terms the near-$11 trillion economy still grew by $700 billion per year, which is a major addition to the world economy.

"I found the discussion here very open, very frank. You get very direct answers," he said.