Interview: China's commitment to high-level openness benefits entire world, says investor Jim Rogers

Exhibitors promote products via livestreaming at the 2023 China (Tianjin) International Fair for Investment and Trade & Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Expo in north China's Tianjin, Nov. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

"Beijing has determined that it's going to continue to open up. It's going to continue to engage with the outside world," said Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor.

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's commitment to high-level openness will benefit the entire world, said Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor and financial commentator.

In a recent Zoom interview with Xinhua, Rogers, chairman of Beeland Interests, Inc. and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index, shared his observations on China following the APEC meeting in San Francisco.

"Everything I read about China these days is that Beijing has determined that it's going to continue to open up. It's going to continue to engage with the outside world," said Rogers.

Recalling his first visit to China some 40 years ago after China opened up, he highlighted the profound impact of China's growth on other nations.

"Look at what it's done to South Korea. It has grown enormously as trade with China has grown. Japan and everybody, including the United States, have been very, very strongly affected by what's happened in China," he said.

He noted that some 40 years ago, the United States had no trade with China. "Now, our trade with China has grown to be gigantic, yielding significant profits for both China and the United States."

"However, there are always some politicians who want to blame other people, but the facts are that the growth of China and the change in China in the past 40 years have been one of the most miraculous and biggest changes in the history of the world," said Rogers.

During the process, "there will be setbacks along the way, but I will tell you that China is going to be the most important country in the 21st century," he said.

Regarding digital transformation in the country, Rogers noted that China produces tens of thousands of engineers every year, more than any other country in the world, and "some of them are very, very good engineers."

This photo taken on Nov. 23, 2023 shows the China Pavilion at the second Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Liu Lingyi)

"As we look forward, we will see that China will continue to add innovation to the world, new industries, new ideas," he said.

As for green development, Rogers said "China has been doing a very good job. China's done a magnificent job of cleaning things up. There's much less pollution than there was even 15 years ago."

A key benefit of China's green development initiatives for the global community is the nation's dedicated effort to address its environmental challenges, according to the investor.

"I'm optimistic about China," Rogers said. "China is the only country that, after being at the bottom for a few decades or a long time, somehow turns around and rises to the top again. No other country has done that. It is now happening again."