China ranks 46th out of 104 economies evaluated in the
Geneva-based World Economic Forum's latest World Competitiveness
Report, dropping two places from last year. The report was released
on Wednesday.
China excels in terms of its macroeconomic environment, which
reflects the strength of economic activity and the absence of major
imbalances, according to Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and
director of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness
Program.
The country ranks first in the national savings rate, 14th in
recession expectations and 17th in the inflation rate.
However, it lags on such indicators as soundness of the banking
system, irregular payments in public utilities and protection of
intellectual property rights.
In technology, although the information and communication
industry has been developing very rapidly, the penetration rates of
the Internet, cellular phones and telephone lines are still
relatively low, largely owing to the country's huge population,
Lopez-Claros said.
Lopez-Claros predicts that China's position will be stable
during the next few years. He expects economic growth to remain
strong and to continue providing a range of benefits.
"What is very impressive about this growth performance is that
it has been accompanied by a large opening up to the rest of the
world, and also has been characterized by a dramatic reduction in
poverty -- literally hundreds of millions of people have been
lifted out of poverty as a result of this high growth rate," he
said in a video statement.
The report says that Finland remains the most competitive
economy in the world, topping the rankings for the second
consecutive year. The United States placed second and Sweden
third.
The rankings are drawn from an opinion survey, which this year
polled over 8,700 business executives in 104 economies worldwide.
The survey is designed to capture a broad range of factors
affecting an economy's business environment, which are key in
determining sustained economic growth.
The final rankings were based on dozens of smaller indicators in
three main categories: the macroeconomic environment, the quality
of public institutions that underpin the development process, and
the level of technological readiness and innovation.
(China Daily October 14, 2004)