Group Photo
On December 13, 2025, the fifth annual meeting of the Global Research Consortium on Economic Structural Transformation (GReCEST) was successfully held at Langrun Garden, Peking University. Over forty participants, including university scholars, think tank experts, and policymakers from around the world, jointly explored the critical issue of global economic structural transformation.
【Opening Ceremony】
During the opening ceremony, Justin Yifu Lin, Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University and Chair of the GReCEST Steering Committee, delivered the opening speech. He emphasised the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for humanity, noting that although the 2030 timeline may not be fully met as we expected, we can still work together to drive economic structural transformation and advance the 17 sub-goals of the SDGs. On this point, he further elaborated on the significance of the GReCEST. He also discussed how we can focus on job creation, as it will contribute to a series of sub-goals, such as those related to decent work and economic growth, zero poverty, industry, innovation and infrastructure, etc.
Five thematic seminars were held at the GReCEST conference, focusing on the following topics: Infrastructure and Global Value Chains, Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, Green Transition and Sustainable Development, Development Financing, and Agriculture and Food.
【Session I: Infrastructure and Global Value Chain】
Session I focused on infrastructure and global value chain, moderated by Jia YU, Research Fellow and Director of the Department of International Development Cooperation, at the Institute of New Structural Economics of Peking University, and GReCEST Deputy General Secretary.
Keun LEE, Professor of Seoul National University, gave a lecture 'Industrial Policy and Upgrading in GVC: Paths toward Inclusive Growth', delving into the reasons for the success and failure of industrial policies in many countries. He provided a detailed analysis of the automotive and coffee value chains and how tariff policies in developed and developing countries can promote industrial development.
Jingyi ZHANG, Senior Investment Specialist at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, introduced the business overview and policy priorities under the theme of 'AIIB and Sustainable Infrastructure Investment'. The bank is the world's second-largest multilateral development bank after the World Bank. She presented a case study of equity investment in Actis Asia Climate Transition Fund to illustrate the bank's focus on sustainable development and climate transition.
【Session II: Digital Technology and AI】
Session II focused on digital technology and artificial intelligence, moderated by Jing GU, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies.
Yongping ZHAI, Senior Advisor of the Strategy Development Department at Tencent, focuses on the topic of 'A New Era: The Mutual Shaping of Artificial Intelligence and Green Transformation'. He mentioned the interesting Jevons Paradox in 1865, the more efficient steam engines boosted overall coal use due to lower costs. He projected that the low cost of AI will boost demand for AI and lead to a huge increase in energy consumption.
Alojzy NOWAK, Professor and Rector of the University of Warsaw, discussed the increased demand for robots in Europe due to population decline, as well as his thoughts on how to allocate work among the population, and how people should maintain a balance of life and work in the era of robots. He also expressed his contemplation on the ultimate meaning of human existence in the future, and how society changes.
【Session III: Green Transformation and Sustainable Development】
Session III focused on green transformation and sustainable development, moderated by Yong WANG, Deputy Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University and GReCEST General Secretary.
Finn TARP, Professor of the University of Copenhagen, discusses the challenges faced by low-income countries on green growth. His topic is 'Green Transformation and Sustainable Development or Development under Climate Change'. The low-income countries have to find a model achieving both poverty reduction and green technology transformation. The heightened climate uncertainty makes designing development policies more difficult. He called for international policies to better focus on the green growth path.
Michele BOLDRIN, Professor of Washington University in St. Louis, discusses the theme 'Green Transformation and Sustainable Development'. In terms of industrial revolutions, he mentioned different countries have experienced different speed in different moments in history. In terms of patterns, there are key differences between spontaneous growth and induced planned growth. He mentioned the political issue of a few topics, from both the intra and international perspectives, such as the debt issue, the income transfer across countries over time and the technological progress.
Jing GU, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies, delivered a speech on 'Building a Greener Future: Green Transition and Sustainable Development'. She discussed the Triple-Alignment Challenge faced by developing countries on economics, technology, and institutions. She proposed three principles to promote international cooperation and sustainable development. After this session, the attendees engaged in free Q&A and joined a lively discussion on topics such as industrial policies, the future of digital technology, and global governance frameworks.
【Session IV: Development Financing】
Session IV focused on development financing and was moderated by Yongping ZHAI, Senior Advisor from the Strategy Development Department at Tencent.
Qi WU, Deputy General Manager of the Strategic Planning Department at the Export-Import Bank of China, mentioned that there is an imbalance between the supply and demand of development financing in low-income countries. International bonds denominated in US dollars account for a high proportion of the external debts of many developing countries. The repayment pressure of some countries is doubled in the past ten years. These factors collectively affect the sustainability of sovereign debt. She suggested that the international community provide responsible financing and focus on high-quality and productive projects.
Célestin Monga, Professor of Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, spoke on 'AfDB: An Identity Crisis?'. He discussed the governance evolution of the African Development Bank and its three main areas of work. For providing development financing, he emphasised that the African Development Bank should have greater regional characteristics in its strategy compared to the World Bank, rather than replicating World Bank's strategy, and play a greater role in providing knowledge products.
Ahmadou Aly MBAYE, Professor of Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, talked about 'Financing Net Zero Energy Transition in Africa: Moving Toward a Feasible Trajectory' and how Africa is experiencing climate change 1.5 times faster than the global average. The scale of clean energy investment in Africa is far less than its huge amount of clean energy resources. He talked about leveraging fossil fuels to finance net zero as a more realistic path for green growth in Africa.
Alojzy NOWAK, Professor and Rector of the University of Warsaw, talked about how it was not easy for his country to make adjustments to comply with EU green standards after joining the EU. He talked about the important question of where development financing and development economics should go in the next 20 years. He reviewed the impact of external shocks such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic on the global value chain. He suggested the international financial community should bring greater certainty to the global environment. After this session, the attending guests engaged in a lively discussion on the development thinking progress after World War II.
【Session V: Agriculture and Food】
Session V focused on agriculture and food, moderated by Zaw Oo, Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Social Development.
Jamal MSAMI, Director of Strategic Research from Research on Poverty Alleviation, spoke on 'Improving Institutional Coordination for Agricultural Transformation: Price Incentive Analysis of Key Commodities'. He mentioned agriculture as a major sector of the African economy. He called for a better role of price incentives to agricultural industry. He suggested improving coordination at the institutional level to promote agricultural development and structural transformation.
Lucia RODRÍGUEZ, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Uruguay in China, talked about the importance of just and equality for sustainable development and agricultural development. She introduced Uruguay's use of modern agricultural technology to monitor the entire process of every piece of product from farm to market. She mentioned that although Uruguay's land is small, it plays an important role on the global dining table.
Shenggen FAN, Chair Professor of China Agricultural University, discussed 'Global and Chinese Agrifood System Transformation: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Ways Forward'. He stated that in 2024, approximately 673 million people worldwide are facing hunger, and over 5 billion people suffer varying degrees of nutritional deficiencies. He called for the global agrifood system must be transformed towards low carbon. He further introduced China's vision and experiences and suggested key pathways of future global agrifood system transformation, such as accelerating green and low-carbon agricultural technologies, etc.
Zaw Oo, Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Social Development, gave a speech titled 'Belt and Road Initiative and Least-Developed Countries in Asia'. He said that the Least-Developed Countries(LDCs) take agriculture as a main sector in their economy, and the Belt and Road Initiative provides the LDCs with a path to graduation through agricultural transformation. Myanmar and Laos are two of the LDCs that border China. He proposed to try food or agriculture diplomacy to promote international peace, as an alternative to large-scale infrastructure projects.
【Closing Remarks】
Yong WANG, Deputy Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University and GReCEST General Secretary, delivered a closing remark. He highly praised the speeches of the attending guests and encouraged the members of GRECEST to practice the ‘integration of knowledge and action’ proposed by a Chinese philosopher, Wang Yangming and 'integrating knowledge and achievement' advocated by new structural economics.
At the end of the annual meeting, Justin Yifu Lin, Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University and Chair of the GReCEST Steering Committee, expressed his gratitude to all attendees for their participation. He hopes the members can continue to participate in the GRECEST platform and make contributions to the development of human society.