SABIC Partners with Caijing Think Tank & Caijing Magazine to Launch “2022 Global Economic Confidence Index”

On March 18, SABIC, a global leading diversified chemical company, joined hands with Caijing Think Tank and Caijing Magazine to launch the 2022 Global Economic Confidence Index (GECI) in Beijing. During the launch event, eight prominent experts and leaders including Li Lei, Vice President and Regional Head, North Asia, SABIC, shared insights into global and Chinese economic trends, risks and outlooks during turbulent times, with discussion and analysis into the journey of global economic recovery upon the increasing attentions towards sustainability.

Other leaders present were: Zhu Min, Chairman of National Institute of Financial Research (NIFR) at Tsinghua University and former Deputy Managing Director of IMF; Cai Fang, former Vice President of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and member of Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China; Li Yang, CASS Member and Executive Board Director of National Institution for Finance & Development; Li Daokui, Director of Institute for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking, Tsinghua University; Zhang Yansheng, Chief Research Fellow, China Center for International Economic Exchanges; Xu Zhaoyuan, Deputy Director General, Research Department of Industrial Economy at Development Research Center of the State Council;  Zhang Yandong, Managing Editor of Caijing Magazine and President of Caijing Think Tank.

“More and more countries are actively participating in achieving the balance between total carbon emissions and absorption - carbon neutrality,” said Li Lei, Vice President and Regional Head, North Asia, SABIC. “Carbon emission reduction, however, is by no means a one-off task. It requires systematic and long-term planning and change. Different industries also need to break down barriers, strengthen benign interactions, deepen international cooperation, and empower the low-carbon transformation of the whole industrial chain. As the pioneer for realizing China’s ‘Dual Carbon’ goals, the chemical industry must intensify technological innovation, accelerate the application of scientific research, and create more excellent technical solutions, to help the manufacturing industry and society as a whole to better achieve high-quality development driven by innovation.”

First released in 2020, the GECI has scientifically and accurately reflected the confidence and vision of political, business and academic circles in the global economy, which has been impacted by the pandemic over the past three years. In this year’s survey, the average global economic growth rate is estimated to reach 4.0% by the respondents, mostly comprised of distinguished economists, political, business and financial leaders and financial media professionals. Compared with 2021, overall expectations are more positive, and it is generally believed that the impact of the pandemic will be alleviated in 2022. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, the persistently high inflation, and the turmoil in international financial markets caused by tightening monetary policy in developed economies are still regarded as the three major risks for the global economy.

Other key findings:

• Under the pressure of demand contraction, supply dysfunction and weakening expectations, China’s economic growth rate is expected to be significantly slower in 2022. 
• However, supported by the strong resilience of China’s economy, its scale and the room for macro-policy adjustment, the national foreign exchange market and stock market are expected to improve steadily in 2022, and China’s status as the “world’s factory” will be retained. 
• Considering residents’ insufficient expectations for income growth, China should take effective measures to raise income and expand consumption, and at the same time, give full play to the leading role of new industries and the new economy. 
• As labour costs continue to rise in China as the country’s digital technology leads the world, high hopes are pinned on digital and intelligent upgrading. Great importance should be attached to tackling bottleneck technical problems in key products and raw materials & components, as well as helping to uplift the average level of industrial technology.

Adhering to its belief of Chemistry that MattersTM, SABIC strives to build solid thought leadership. It has not only taken the lead to launch the GECI for three consecutive years, but has also set up a fourteen-year partnership with Boao Forum for Asia. In late April, SABIC will once again participate in the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 for the third year as an honorary strategic partner, further gathering wisdom and consensus from all parties, and joining hands with partners from all sectors to lead the industry’s low-carbon emission transformation and therefore better support the high-quality development of the national economy.