Speaking at the Singapore-China Forum, Singapore Health Minister Ong Yikang said that China's current situation is very different from Japan in the 1980s, and if China can reduce its over-dependence on the real estate industry, promote domestic consumption, investment and development of the technology sector, and continue to promote reform and opening up, there is no reason to be depressed about China's future economy.

The 5th Singapore-China Forum, organized by Lianhe Zaobao of Singapore, was held in Beijing on November 21. The theme of this year's forum is "Challenges and Opportunities for Singapore-China Youth Growth".

In his speech, Mr. Wang said some economists compare China's current situation to that of Japan in the 1980s, when the economy suffered from a property bubble and an aging population, leading to years of no growth. They assume that China, like Japan, will enter a long period of deflation and stagnation.

But according to Wang Yikang, the situation is very different. In Japan in the 1980s, per capita income was already higher than in the United States, while China's per capita income is now only one-third that of the United States. "There is a lot of room for China to continue its growth momentum after overcoming the current downturn."

As for population aging, Wang Yikang said that except for Africa, countries around the world have similar situations, China's cultural history is much older than Singapore, but in terms of population structure, Singapore is actually about 10 years older than China, and many European countries, such as Germany, are 20 years older than Singapore.

'Population aging is a major and complex social challenge, but growth cannot be driven by an endless expansion of the workforce,' he said. Nor does it necessarily mean that aging societies become less dynamic.

Wang believes that if China can reduce its over-dependence on the real estate sector, promote domestic consumption, investment and development of the technology sector, and continue to push forward the strategy of reform and opening up, people have no reason to be depressed about China's future economic outlook.

'China is very likely to be the world's largest economy by 2030,' he said. Per capita income would rise to levels close to those of developed countries.

"If there are no geopolitical disasters and the world can maintain global peace and order, we will have a new landscape for the first time in the history of Asia," Wang said.