2017年CRI Attendees of World Economic Forum optimistic about Chinese economy

Li Daokui, Director of the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, was among those noting the growing role of consumption and services in the world's second largest economy.

"Consumption contributed to more than 70% of China's economic growth in 2016, and the added value of the tertiary sector 1 in China's GDP has surpassed 50%. Development of cities in western China has been on a fast track. After many years, development of the western regions, which we have been very concerned about, is no longer lagging behind, " said Li.

As China continues to transition from export-led growth to a model driven by consumption and services, there also appears to be optimism among international organizations, including the International Monetary 2 Fund (IMF).

In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the IMF raised China's growth forecast for 2017 to 6.5%, up from the 6.2% projection 3 made in October. The IMF says its revision is based on expectations of continued policy support for the economy.

Thomas Jordan, Chair of the Swiss National Bank, the nation's central bank, described China as an increasingly important driver of global economic growth.

"So China is a key country for the world economy. It's one of the drivers, if not the driver, of world growth. So all good numbers that come out of China are very positive signals for the world economy," explained Jordan.

Multinational 4 companies with operations in China also seem to be increasing their bets on the Chinese market, particularly given the rapidly growing ranks of the middle-class consumers.

"(The) Chinese economy will be increasingly relevant to economies all around the world, obviously including the United States. I think businesses continue to grow well. I think a lot of it is about the growing Chinese middle class and a shift towards more consumer behavior. Obviously, that's good for us. The most predominate guests in our hotels in China are Chinese travelers," said Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott International hotels.

Joe Kaeser, CEO of German industrial giant Siemens, said his company has been able to expand its business in China through localization.

"We do realize, and we have done that, that localization matters, that innovation, technology needs to be brought to the country where we do business in. We've been very adamant 5 about it. We have almost 4,000 people working for Siemens in China, so we are very proud of the history, and we have a lot we can do together for a very bright future," said Kaeser.

The optimism comes in the wake of new Chinese government analysis showing China's economy grew 6.7% through 2016.