本次論壇舉行的同時，世界經(jīng)濟正在經(jīng)歷巨大波動，使促進經(jīng)濟在近些年高速增長的前提和做法受到了挑戰(zhàn)。事實上，幾家處于世界領導地位的美國金融機構的陡然崩潰，并迅速蔓延，且伴隨著經(jīng)濟形勢和經(jīng)濟前景的急劇惡化，這震驚了各國領導人，并使他們意識到這不僅僅是循環(huán)型的經(jīng)濟衰退，而是一個根本性的打擊，幾乎使經(jīng)濟和金融體系處于崩潰的邊緣，而這一體系我們曾認為是理所當然的。政府和專家并沒有預見到這個危機，他們的反應只能是對經(jīng)濟進行空前強度的干預，這也許暫時緩解了壓力，但我們并不知道這是否能把我們從這種導致全球衰退的危機中解救出來。

中國經(jīng)濟的實力、適應力和整體良好的管理將降低經(jīng)濟危機對中國的影響。但正如我們已經(jīng)看到的，中國對這場危機也不是免疫的，尤其是主要依賴出口的地區(qū)和部門已經(jīng)在受到影響，并且不會很快從危機中得到恢復，盡管政府已經(jīng)采取了措施以期擺脫困境和保持社會穩(wěn)定。

中國領導人堅定地表示，中國將以科學發(fā)展觀為引導走可持續(xù)發(fā)展的道路，建設和諧社會。這場危機無疑影響了外國專家在幫助中國建設和諧社會和幫助受影響地區(qū)恢復經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的過程中發(fā)揮作用的方式。當然，在一些特殊情況下，專家的經(jīng)驗、技術仍然是必須的，且應用時必須對所需解決問題與更高一級系統(tǒng)之間的有機關系有深刻的理解。

如果想達到積極的效果，充分理解某些具體因素與同一系統(tǒng)內(nèi)其他因素之間的相互影響、因果關系是最基礎的。中國專家在很多領域也擁有豐富的經(jīng)驗和智慧，相比外國專家，他們可能毫不遜色，甚至有所超越。我相信中國專家也應該加入專家團隊，這樣中外專家既共同發(fā)揮作用又相互受益，這至關重要。在大多數(shù)情況下，外國專家的價值在于架起了中外專家之間的橋梁。而今，任何一個國家都無法獨自解決自身面臨的問題，這次全球性的危機將使國家內(nèi)部、國家之間的合作達到史無前例的水平。

社會需要一個有效的國際體系來監(jiān)管資本流動和那些掌握大規(guī)模資本流動的金融機構，這種需求因為美國的金融危機及其全球影響而被重視。美國幾大金融機構的破產(chǎn)、美國經(jīng)濟及其貨幣的走弱無疑都削弱了美國在全球經(jīng)濟中的領導地位。盡管美國的角色可能被重新樹立，但它將無法抵達曾經(jīng)的至高頂峰。美國將和中國、日本、印度等國家和地區(qū)共享在全球經(jīng)濟和金融體系中的領導力。美國危機也凸現(xiàn)了這一事實:國際經(jīng)濟和金融的中心正在轉移到亞洲，而這場危機將加速這一過程。

盡管社會主義、資本主義的支持者仍在強調意識形態(tài)的差別，但社會主義國家正在邁向市場經(jīng)濟，美國這一頭號資本主義強國正在尋求社會主義的方法來應對這場危機，淡化了雙方意識形態(tài)的差異。非常具有諷刺意義的就是:美國正被迫接管大型私有企業(yè)，甚至是使之國有化，而中國這一世界主要社會主義大國，正致力于推進國有企業(yè)的私有化進程，以通過走以科學發(fā)展觀引導的社會主義市場經(jīng)濟道路實現(xiàn)和諧發(fā)展。

通過以上觀點，我希望與大家共享我的想法，在向新世界經(jīng)濟格局轉變過程中，中國將起到關鍵的領導作用，這一新格局將包括向可持續(xù)社會轉型所需的因素。這一可持續(xù)發(fā)展道路以科學發(fā)展觀為引導，致力于實現(xiàn)惠及全體人民的和諧社會，中國領導人如此允諾。這樣，中國將對未來這個更和平、平等、可持續(xù)的新世界作出獨有的、不可或缺的貢獻，而這個新世界將在目前這場危機中誕生。

(莫里斯·斯特朗，曾8次擔任聯(lián)合國副秘書長，并擔任聯(lián)合國環(huán)境開發(fā)署首任執(zhí)行官。本文編譯自斯特朗先生為2008中國國際人才交流大會“國際人才高峰論壇”準備的發(fā)言稿，他因故未能到會發(fā)言。)

This Forum comes at a time of cataclysmic tumult in the world economy， which challenges the basic premises and practices which have driven the unprecedented expansion of the economy in recent years. In fact， the precipitous collapse of some of the world抯 leading financial institutions in the United States has spread so rapidly and been accompanied by a severe decline in the economy and its prospects has shocked world leaders into the realization that this is no mere cyclical downturn， but a fundamental shock， verging on collapse to the financial and economic system which we have come to take for granted. Governments and experts who did not foresee this crisis have had to respond to it with an unprecedented degree of direct intervention in the economy and its institutions which may have temporarily eased the pressures but we cannot yet know whether they will save us from the kind of collapse that would trigger a global depression.

The strength， the resilience， and the generally good management of China抯 economy will reduce the impacts of this on China. But as we are already seeing， China will not be immune to them and indeed those sectors and those regions which are especially dependent on foreign exports are already suffering and are not likely to recover quickly though the government is already taking special measures to alleviate the plight of those affected and ensure social stability.

This profound process of change clearly affects the role of foreign experts and the ways they can best contribute to recovery of the affected areas of China抯 economy and the transition to the sustainable pathway， guided by science， to the harmonious society which China抯 leaders have articulated so well. Of course， specialized expertise will still be required in particular instances， and must be applied with a high degree of understanding of the systemic relationships between the particular issue being addressed and the broader system of issues of which it is a part.

An understanding of the interaction and the cause-and-effect relationships between such specific elements and the other elements within this cause-and-effect system is essential if positive results are to be achieved. As China抯 own experts have developed a degree of experience and sophistication which in most areas equals and many surpasses that of foreign experts， I believe it is important that they be integrated within expert teams to which both contribute and from which both benefit. In most instances， the foreign experts will be valuable for the bridge they build between the Chinese and their foreign counterparts. No country today can resolve the challenges it faces in isolation and the current world crisis must give rise to unprecedented levels of cooperation both within and amongst countries.

The need for an effective international regime for surveillance and regulation of capital movements and the financial institutions through which they flow is dramatically underscored by the U. S. financial meltdown and its global impacts. The demise of leading U. S. institutions， the weakness of its economy and its currency have clearly undermined the leading role of the United States in the world economy. Although that role is likely to be rebuilt， it will never achieve the degree of supremacy it previously enjoyed.The United States must now share with the leading countries of this region， notably China， Japan， India， and of course， this country， leadership of the world抯 financial and economic systems.The crisis of the United States underscores the fact that the center of gravity of the world抯 economic and financial systems is moving to Asia and the current crisis will clearly accelerate that process.

Although proponents of both socialism and capitalism continue to stress their ideological differences， in practice these are becoming much less relevant as socialist countries move towards the market economy and even the leading capitalist country， the United States， is resorting to socialist solutions in response to its financial crisis. Indeed it is ironic that as the United States is forced to take ownership or control of major private sector institutions， the world抯 principal socialist country， China， is privatizing many of its state enterprises in implementation of its commitment to harmonious development through a science-guided 揝ocialist Market Economy?

With these remarks， I have tried to share with you my deep belief in the critically， indeed leading， role that China can play in the transition to a new world economic structure which fully integrates into the economy the measures required to make the transition to a sustainable development pathway guided by science which will produce the harmonious society to which its leaders are committed for the benefit of all of its people. In doing so， China will make a distinctive and indispensable contribution to the kind of more peaceful， equitable， sustainable world society which could and should emerge from the current crisis. This most timely and important Forum can point the way.

( Extract of Hon. Maurice F. Strong抯 Speech to the International Talents Summit Forum of the China Conference on International Exchange of Professionals， Shenzhen， China， November 29th， 2008， who didn抰 attend the conference in person for a certain reason.)