Martin Jacques is a senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies， University of Cambridge. In this exclusive interview with China Focus， an online magazine published by the China International Publishing Group， he shares his views on issues ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to China’s development in the last 70 years and how the world has benefi ted from it. He also analyzes the Hong Kong situation. This is an edited version of the interview：

China Focus： This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. What has been the biggest change in China over these seven decades？

　　Martin Jacques： I think the most remarkable change is the transformation in living conditions and the size of the Chinese economy， which is truly remarkable and the most extraordinary change in human history in such a short space of time. China is about a fifth of the world’s population. So if China is very poor， obviously it will contribute very little to the global economy and possibilities for other peoples around the world.
　　But if China grows， then its importance to the rest of the world economically is transformed. Ever since 2008， China has been the biggest contributor to global economic growth. Whether China’s growth slows down or increases， it has a direct effect on many economies around the world.

How do you view China’s participation in global governance？

　　For a long time， China was outside the global system. But after 1978 when the reform and opening up was introduced and especially in 2001 when China joined the World Trade Organization， it became a participant in the process， though relatively passive. But it was still fi nding its way， concentrating on domestic development.
　　I think the turning point was around the time of the global financial crisis in 2008， when China made a really important contribution to ensuring there wasn’t a global depression by staging its enormous stimulus program， which actually saved the global economy from something much worse.

　　And from that moment， I think China became more and more interested in the possibility of participating in the policies for the global economy. Ever since， with the Belt and Road Initiative and the founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank， China has become a really serious player in these areas. 　　China used to be criticized by the Americans for not contributing public goods to the world. Now China is clearly contributing public goods on a large scale because the Belt and Road Initiative is by far the biggest scheme in the world in terms of helping， in particular， development.

Italy became the first G7 country and the latest EU member to join the initiative. What is the attitude of other EU countries toward it？ How do you think the UK views the initiative？

　　I would say that Europe’s reaction in general to the Belt and Road Initiative has varied. What you have seen is Central and Eastern Europe who have been pretty enthusiastic and so you’ve got 17+1 （the cooperation platform comprising China and 17 Central and Eastern European countries with Greece being the latest entrant）.
　　Europe has steadily become more enthusiastic and three countries in particular are involved—Greece， Portugal and now Italy. Western Europe， in particular the highlands like Germany， France and Britain are the biggest in terms of economic power. They all are being a bit iffy about the Belt and Road， and somewhat reluctant to get involved and endorse it， but not opposing it.
　　Britain in some ways has been perhaps the most supportive， but I think politically， we have to wait and see whether the government is a supporter or not.

The street violence in Hong Kong lasted several months. How do you view what is happening in the city？

　　I view it as very disappointing and depressing. Clearly， things are not going well in Hong Kong. And it’s 22 years since the handover （from Britain to China）. That’s a long time.

　　The reason that makes this issue very complicated is the 156 years of British co-lonialism. Hong Kong is Chinese in some senses， but in other senses it is Western， with Western norms and values. And that’s a big challenge.
　　I think the extradition bill worried a lot of people in Hong Kong. That’s why you got issues. The proposal led to the huge demonstration. But in the back of this demonstration went all these violent gangs， engaging in behavior no modern society can tolerate.
　　At the same time， I think that it also revealed some big challenges for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Chinese Central Government in terms of a reform program for Hong Kong， because it’s clear that the society in some ways is stuck. How to move it on？ I think there are a number of questions here.

What would you suggest to end the chaos？

　　One， it needs a serious social economic reform program to break the power of the tycoons who still dominate the economy. It’s an oligopoly economy， not a free economy as is sometimes presented， and they control a large measure of the supply of land， thereby resulting in very high property prices.
　　The second point is that Hong Kong is a fantastically unequal society. It is one of the most unequal societies in the world. A lot of young people don’t think they have opportunities； they’ll never be able to own property in Hong Kong. So that question has got to be tackled. And Hong Kong has not had anything like the reform and opening up program and needs to have one. I think that can transform the way in which a lot of people in Hong Kong see the present situation. But by and large， it’s been stuck and it needs to renew the whole approach.
　　I think the whole approach needs to be re-thought with a new kind of strategic ambition for Hong Kong and can combine that integration with the Greater Bay Area project （a regional development plan for integrated growth of Hong Kong， Macao and nine cities on the Chinese mainland）. It is very important for Hong Kong. But it’ll need to be done in a very thoughtful way because that could also lead to resentment. It could go both ways.
　　The fourth point I’m making is the importance of dialogue. The behavior of these young people is absolutely unacceptable. You can’t just say go away because they won’t. They’re still in society and this is undermining society. So you need some kind of dialogue.