At the start of the inaugural SMU China Forum on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that "China will be an economy with plenty of opportunities for the rest of us". More than 300 people attended the day-long event, including China Ambassador to Singapore Duan Jielong and former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin. Mr Tharman's comments came a day after China's ruling Communist party outlined sweeping reforms in promising a bigger role for the free market in the country's state-dominated economy. SMU organised yesterday's forum as part of its efforts to strengthen and deepen its own engagement with China. The university hopes to hold the event on a regular basis, alternating between Singapore and China.