(ECNS) -- Famed investor Jim Rogers, hailed as the most visionary international investor, shared his insights on China's important role in two fields during the latest interview with ECNS.
He believes that China will become one of the "most important countries" and that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is going to be one of the most important things in the 21st century.
"Unbelievable" changes in Chinese economy
Rogers lauds the "unbelievable" changes in the Chinese economy over the past 40 years and believes the momentum "is going to continue." After the pandemic, China will still grow and become very successful, he says. Meanwhile, he notes that China is a place to look for more investments as it is going to generate huge effects on the world economy.
Rogers appreciates the Chinese word "Wei Ji", which means crisis and opportunity of the same thing. He believes crisis and opportunities always coexist, therefore, he would like to take a dialectical approach to examine investment directions.
"We have recently had a big virus and many problems in the world, which may have led to some opportunities. Travel, airlines, entertainment, things like that in China and everywhere, would probably be great opportunities," he said.
Rogers is optimistic about investment opportunities in Chinese agriculture. Over the years, he has witnessed how Chinese cities have boomed, but he also found that rural development relatively lags behind during the process. However, he told ECNS that, this is exactly where the opportunities lie. "Beijing now does everything it can to help you if you live in the countryside," he said.
China in February released the No.1 Central Document for 2023, in which the world's second-largest economy underlined its determination to "comprehensively push forward" rural vitalization and modernization.
Thus, Rogers believes there is a promising future for investment in China's agriculture.
"There are many places to invest, but China is going to be one of the most important countries in the 21st century. I've taught my children Chinese because my children will live in the 21st century," he says. "The 21st century is going to be economically, and in many ways, the century of China," he added.
"BRI the most important thing in the 21st century"
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" Initiative(BRI). Rogers says the BRI has positively driven the economic development of countries along the Belt and Road.
Just as the railroad was gigantically important in the 19th century, so will the BRI in the 21st century, he believes, saying that the BRI is "the most important thing I have seen so far.".
Data from the National Development and Reform Commission shows that as of the end of 2022, China had signed more than 200 cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 32 international organizations as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first 11 months of 2022, Chinese companies' non-financial direct investment in the countries along Belt and Road reached $19.16 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent.
"China has a lot of people, a lot of money, a lot of commerce, a lot of everything. And as the Chinese build out this new transportation communication system, it's going to have gigantic effects. The countries and the places that are affected will become very prosperous," Rogers said.
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