Protester slams World Bank as a liar

The prescription provided by the World Bank (WB) for a better Chinese economy over the next two decades is nothing but poison, a protester said Tuesday during a press conference held in Beijing by the bank, stealing attention from the head of the 187-nation lending organization.

China's export- and investment-driven economy has seen high growth over the past three decades, during which State-owned enterprises enjoyed favorable policies from the government but created little benefits for the average Chinese people, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said at the press conference, pointing to a need to restructure the nation's State-owned sector to allow more private participation.

Zoellick made the remarks in reference to a report jointly launched by the World Bank and the Development Research Center under the State Council Monday.

China's economy has reached a "turning point" and might fall into a crisis if the government fails to implement reforms including strengthening of its private sector and further opening up of its markets, said the report.

Such an advice drew the fury of Du Jianguo, a self-professed independent scholar, who broke into the venue at the beginning of the conference shouting "the World Bank is a liar" and distributing copies of a statement he said was written by him.

"Policies encouraged by the World Bank, which have failed in the West and the developing countries, such as promoting the privatization of banks and State-owned enterprises, as well as tax cuts for private companies, will destroy the Chinese economy and allow Wall Street and a few Chinese to plunder others," Du wrote in the statement.

He was soon evicted by the bank's staff.

Appearing to be unfazed by Du's disruption, Zoellick said he was used to "demonstrations and worse" as a former US Trade Representative. Such protests were "the point of any good research report," Zoellick said, noting that while the report was meant to advise the government to push forward reforms, the final decision is still left to the Chinese government, and that the reforms should be gradual instead of too abrupt.

Mainstream economists remain supportive toward a restructuring of the economy to facilitate a balance between the State and private sectors.

"We are not sure how much progress will be made during the economy's further opening to private participation, but it is certainly the direction of the economic development," Chang Jian, China economist at Barclays Capital, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Chang believes industries such as railway construction and financial services would see more private capital.

While State-owned enterprises would continue their presence in some fields related to public welfare, they should gradually step out from areas in need of better market competition, Lu Zhengwei, Shanghai-based chief economist of Industrial Bank, told the Global Times.

"China needs no big change to its current economic regime, and a strengthening of supervision over State-owned enterprises would be enough," 39-year-old Du reiterated in a phone interview with the Global Times late Tuesday.

Du told the Global Times that he has engaged in independent research on China's politics, economy as well as the global economy for about a decade. He has also worked as a magazine editor in the past.

Chinese online reactions were split over Du's action, with some applauding him for daring remarks, while others blamed him for over-sensationalizing the issue.