Winter beckons the long-awaited gathering. The 2020 China Development Forum (CDF) will be held from 11th to 13th November 2020. As the chair of the forum, on behalf of the host, the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), I would like to extend a warm welcome to both the Chinese and overseas delegates attending the forum, and to express my heartfelt gratitude to friends at home and abroad who have shown understanding for and supported the forum.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s annual meeting was postponed to be held in November, the first time in 21 years. It is also the first time to be held both online and onsite simultaneously. With the postponement and the adjustment of operation, our passion and motivation were further uplifted and our faith and persistence reinforced to present an outstanding forum. This year’s brand-new and innovative CDF annual grand gathering is bound to be a unique entry in the history of the CDF.

In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak brought serious impact to the world and inflicted heavy loss to the global economy. Through arduous efforts, the Chinese government and people have made significant achievements in the prevention and control of the pandemic. China has witnessed a stable recovery trend. However, the pandemic is still rampant across the world, bringing pressing challenges to the global economic development. At this moment, we would like to express our sincere wishes to the people of all countries who are fighting the pandemic, and our genuine admiration for people from all walks of life who are trying to achieve economic stability and recovery. Faced with these challenges, we feel the imperatives to communicate, to share, to rebuild trust and to collaborate with each other more than ever before.

The CDF will stick to its commitment to ‘Engaging with the World for the Common Prosperity’. With ‘Economic Recovery and International Cooperation in a Post-Pandemic Era’ as its theme, this year’s annual gathering will be centered around in-depth discussion topics such as the 14th Five-Year plan framework and long-term targets for 2035, China’s new development stage and ‘dual circulation’, global cooperation against COVID-19, the building of a resilient financial system, and cooperation on the global industrial and supply chains. Delegates will be discussing how countries around the world can jointly promote further opening up, strengthen cooperation and communication, address risks and challenges together, and promote economic recovery cooperatively. The CDF will bring its platform role into full play and engage all parties to communicate China’s policies and spread the voice of reason for supporting multilateralism and jointly promoting global economic recovery.

In addition, I would also like to thank the Chinese and international business communities that lent their support to China's fight against the COVID-19. Your support has tremendously helped China to overcome the pandemic, and the Chinese people felt deeply the goodwill and warmth from the international community.

The vibe of a spring gathering remains in this winter, and we shall delight in the meeting both online and onsite. I believe that, with the strong support and engagement of the Chinese and overseas delegates, this year’s CDF will achieve fruitful results in consolidating mutual understanding, promoting cooperation, and sharing responsibilities among all parties, and will play a unique and crucial role in promoting worldwide economic recovery and common development.

I wish the CDF 2020 a complete success!

MA Jiantang

Chair, China Development Forum

Secretary, the Leading Party Members Group, Development Research Center of the State Council