BEIJING, November 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The 10th China Entrepreneur Summit 2011 will be opened on 9th December. This business event, co-hosted by the Chinese Entrepreneur magazine and China Entrepreneur Club, entered its tenth year. "2012: Institutional Evolution and Market Integrity" becomes the annual theme of the Summit.
Recently, on the annual theme of "Institutional Evolution and Market Integrity", Ms. He Zhenhong, the Chief of China Entrepreneur magazine, interviewed respectively with Mr. Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman of the Board of Lenovo Holdings Ltd., Mr. Zhang Ruimin, Board Chairman and CEO of Haier Group, Mr. Li Dongsheng, Chairman of the Board of TCL Corporation, Mr. Jin Zhiguo, the President of Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd., Mr. Zhang Yaqin, Chairman of Microsoft China R&D Group, Mr. Wang Wenjing, Chairman of the Board of UFIDA Software Co., Ltd., and Mr. Zhang Ligang, Board Chairman and CEO of Ikang Guobin Healthcare Group.
Ms. He Zhenhong introduced the background of the presentation of the annual theme. From a domestic perspective, GDP data show that economic growth has slowed down and China's economy might enter the low-growth era. From an international perspective, the impact of financial crisis still remains and some European and American countries have shown the risk of sovereign debt crisis. All this makes China's economic transformation face challenges. "To overcome the challenges, the institution and the market are two important factors." Therefore, the Summit set the theme of "Institutional Evolution and Market Integrity".
Entrepreneurs generally believe that the development of China's market economic system has created a huge economic vitality, but the unreasonable element of it is increasingly becoming an obstacle to economic and social development. Entrepreneurs on one hand need to improve the ability to compete with the institution and enhance their competitiveness. On the other, the government needs more substantive actions to promote the institutional evolution and enhance market integrity.
Mr. Liu Chuanzhi: Equal treatment is the essence of institution
"When institution is really formed, the country often loses productivity motivation, like a 'warm water boiled frog'," said Liu. China's current institution is to be perfected, but if blindly leveled, entrepreneurs will feel a lack of security to work.
Liu thinks that there are two attitudes or styles for people living: one is "to live" and the other is "to live well". Entrepreneurship is precisely to promote the spirit of exceeding and engagement in pursuit. It is very important for institution to encourage entrepreneurs who want to "live well" and the spirit of pursuit.
Market integrity itself is to let people compete fairly. The state's promotion of enterprise development and the protection of entrepreneurial enthusiasm are reflected in a fair competition. "The essence of the institution lies in a fair, just, reasonable, and equal treatment for everyone," said Liu. Market integrity also includes entrepreneur responsibility. Entrepreneurs doing things not only have to comply with corporate interests, but also with the national and social interests. It damages market integrity when they do something to their own advantage for enterprises or themselves while actually damaging society.
Mr. Zhang Ruimin: Promotion of competitiveness is king in institutional evolution
Zhang thinks that "Institutional Evolution and Market Integrity" includes three meanings. First, there should be a platform for fair competition, reflecting equal market opportunities. To protect market integrity, businesses and individuals need to be fully competitive in a market economy. Second, there should be an institution to encourage everyone's innovations. It is the key point of the institutional evolution to ensure vitality of the market through sufficient innovation and entrepreneurship of employees and businesses. Third, there should be an incentive-compatible mechanism to ensure that businesses and individuals get consistent effort and rewards to guarantee the value they create is consistent with the value of social advocacy.
For the moment, in addition to competing with the market, Chinese enterprises have to compete with the institution as well. Zhang also thinks enterprises "should do their work as much as possible, or in other words, to improve our own competitiveness" to deal with the status quo and to improve the competitiveness in the long term. This is also the only way. But to improve the environment still needs to be advanced though reform.
Mr. Li Dongsheng: Government involvement in business decisions needs to be cautious
"Less government involvement in particular market business decisions is the key to the institutional evolution and maintenance of market integrity," said Li.
In the transformation process of China's planned economy to market economy, the institution building is yet to complete. Li hopes, in the future economic reform, "the role of the institution and law shall be put into full play while reducing the government's administrative interference, to reach the social consensus through more discussions." Meanwhile, the government should not interfere too much in particular market behavior, because in the long term, "the impact of this method may be negative to the improvement of the entire market economy environment and the entire economic system reform and institution building."
Mr. Jin Zhiguo: The market is the Holy Land for devotees, not a battlefield for predators
Jin thinks the theme of "Institutional Evolution and Market Integrity" is a sign of maturity for Chinese enterprises and China's market economy. Institutional evolution ensures market integrity, thus, making the process of wealth creation a kind behavior, and creating a green value at the same time.
"The market is the Holy Land for devotees, not a battlefield for predators. Market integrity needs kind behavior and sincerity of entrepreneurs to maintain," said Jin. Reflected in the ignorance and disrespect of rules, China's current market economy is not mature yet. The market maturity derives from the goodwill and kind behavior of entrepreneurs. "For a green and clean market, make the entrepreneurs' mind green and clean first." This process requires both faith in the market and protection and restraint of the institution.
"The current institutional environment needs to be further opened up. The more it is opened up, the more the environment is optimized," Jin said. The quick institutional progress makes quick improvement of market environment. For enterprises existing in the business environment, "your small environment and your state of mind must be clean, not to pollute the environment, and not to be affected by the adverse factors in the environment."
Mr. Zhang Yaqin: "Innovation" and "contract spirit" are essential for Chinese enterprises
Incomplete marketization means that the institution still needs to evolve. Zhang said, "The current environment is a semi-market-oriented environment, or a market-oriented environment under a planned economy." In such a mechanism, for all types of enterprises, people desire to have "a real and transparent environment and fair platform" to compete and develop.
"The business environment change means the market integrity needs better maintenance. Chinese companies are moving towards the international market and the international financial markets. Business credit and international common practice has become very important. As entrepreneurs and as Chinese enterprises in globalization, we should set higher standard on ourselves," said Zhang.
Meanwhile, innovation and contract spirit are more and more significant to Chinese enterprises. Zhang said, "Now we are not lacking in 'entrepreneurship', but have a lack of real 'innovation'."
Mr. Wang Wenjing: Adaptation of institution and market
Wang thinks when reform and opening up need to be further deepened, the economic development and enterprise development will also enter a new phase, which corresponds to institutional development and improvement. Through three decades of reform and opening up, we have developed toward marketization, but the process continues, yet to be complete. In the context of globalization, "Chinese enterprises have to find adaptation in the institution and market environment. This will help to foster world-class enterprises," said Wang.
Mr. Zhang Ligang: After three decades of reform and opening up, better institution is needed.
"Business", as a civilization, in the long history of China, has not been paid sufficient attention to. With the reform and opening up policy, it has written brilliance. In the next thirty years of development, it needs institutional guarantee. Zhang said, "Whether to continue the development of the past three decades needs for a better institution to protect the business, so that the social forces can play a greater value." He hopes there will be more and better institutions to help business development in the next few years. (Editor: Liu Jiao)
