Speech at the opening of Asian Financial Forum
by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Mr Donald Tsang
January 20, 2010
在亚洲金融论坛上的讲话
香港特别行政区行政长官 曾荫权
2010年1月20日
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
各位嘉宾,女士们,先生们:
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to Hong Kong for the Asian Financial Forum. I am delighted that so many prestigious speakers and guests are taking part again this year.
上午好!欢迎大家来到香港参加本届亚洲金融论坛。我很高兴有这么多著名的发言者及嘉宾今年再次参加本届论坛。
How things have changed since our first Forum in 2007. You may remember that the theme of the inaugural event was "Leveraging New Opportunities - Advancing Regional Stability". Then came the full impact of the global financial crisis. The second AFF took place this time last year amid global economic turmoil. Our theme last year, "The Changing Face of Asia", was an appropriate choice. Today the situation has improved considerably, although it would be premature to say that we are completely out of the woods. However, many economists agree that there has been a shift in global economic power away from Europe and the US and towards Asia – and in particular China. So this year's Forum is aptly titled: "Asia in the New Economic Order".
自2007年首届金融论坛之后,国际形势发生了很大的变化。大家也许还记得首届论坛的主题是——“促进稳定 拓展商机”。紧接着,全球金融危机爆发,带来了巨大的影响。去年的这个时候,第二届亚洲金融论坛在全球经济不景气的背景下召开。但我们选择了一个合适的主题——“转变中的亚洲面貌”。现在形势已经有了很大好转,虽然说我们完全摆脱困境还为时过早。但是,许多经济学家都同意,现在全球经济实力已经从欧洲和美洲转移到亚洲来,尤其是到中国来。因此,今年论坛选择了恰当的主题:“环球经济新局面——亚洲新角色”。
Having learned some difficult lessons during the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, our region has been relatively resilient in the face of the recent financial tsunami. Today, the international community expects Asia to rise to the challenge and play a more prominent role in the changing economic landscape. Each of our economies has a part to play. So today, I want to talk about some of the ways we intend to grasp the opportunities in Hong Kong as well as facilitate Asia's financial and economic progress.
在十年前的亚洲金融危机中,我们学到了许多经验教训。因而面对最近的金融海啸,我们显得比较灵活。今天,国际社会期待亚洲迎接挑战,在改变经济面貌方面发挥更重要的作用。我们每个经济体都占有一席之地。因此今天,我想谈一下我们打算在香港抓住机会促进亚洲金融和经济发展的一些方法。
Last month, the Asian Development Bank forecast the 14 economies of emerging East Asia – including Hong Kong and the mainland of China – to grow by 6.8 per cent this year. That's up from the Bank's previous forecast of 6.5 per cent growth. This is better than many of us would have dared hope for this time last year. However, we should not become overly optimistic. There are dangers lurking that could stall the recovery process.
上个月,亚洲发展银行预计,包括香港和中国大陆在内的东亚14个新经济体今年将以6.8%的速度增长,比先期预计的6.5%要高出0.3个百分点。这样的情况要比我们中的许多人去年这个时候所希望的要好得多。但是,我们也不能过度乐观。因为存在着潜在的拖延经济复苏进程的危险因素。