At the inaugural SMU China Forum, Justin Lin, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, expressed his optimism of China’s economic growth over the next few years. He said that China can maintain around 8 per cent economic growth for the next 20 years, he also predicted that China’s growth next year would be between 7.5 and 8 per cent. Mr Lin, who was born in Taiwan’s Yilan, was the former Senior Vice President & Chief Economist at the World Bank, and is currently the Honorary Dean and Professor at the National School of Development at Peking University.