Mayor to global CEOs: help us grow Shanghai

By Zhang Fengming  |   2008-11-2  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Shanghai's economic development is stable and orderly and the world's visiting top executives are invited to contribute their views on its future, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said yesterday.

Han met senior executives from Investor AB, GDF Suez, Luksic, ABB Ltd and Chia Tai Group who are in Shanghai to attend the 20th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council today.

The one-day IBLAC meeting was initiated in 1989 by Zhu Rongji, then Shanghai mayor and later Chinese premier, as a global think-tank for Shanghai.

Han encouraged delegates to freely exchange ideas on current economic issues during the meeting, the theme of which is Retrospect and Outlook - Shanghai in Globalization.

Foreign investment plays a strong role in the economy of Shanghai, so it experiences earlier than other cities the impact of the changing global financial landscape, Han said. It has followed central government strategy and taken measures to maintain stable and orderly economic and social development, Han said.

The Chief Executive Officer of ABB Ltd, Joseph M. Hogan, said he had travelled extensively around the world in the past two weeks assessing the impact of the financial crisis.

He found that the world looked to China for sustainability and ABB was no exception.

Han said there was room for further cooperation with multinational companies in Shanghai and he wanted to hear the leaders' views.

This year's meeting includes not only business chiefs but also the former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and great academic minds such as Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs.

Han and the delegates yesterday took time out to visit Binjiang Forest Park as a sign of their endorsement and respect for sustainable and eco-friendly global development.