The prospect on China's development to 2020 is optimistic, experts said at one of Europe's leading China study events on Monday.

Hundreds of experts who focus on studies of modern China attended the fourth International Forum for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, held in Nottingham.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Professor Shujie Yao, Head of the University's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, noted that as the global economy recovers at a much slower rate than predicted, China and India are the leading growers.

He added that the Chinese government must act with urgency over the coming decade to take the difficult steps towards building a healthy development model that transforms China into a fairer and more stable society.

Addressing the forum, Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, said that one of the defining issues of his generation has been the emergence of China and its integration into the world economy.

Around 200 experts in the study of modern China gathered at the two-day forum to debate the challenges facing the country in the years leading up to 2020 and the policies that can guide China through the decade unscathed.

The forum was hosted by the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, home to the China Policy Institute think tank, and co-organized by the Asia Research Center at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the School of Sociology and Anthropology at Sun Yat-sen University.

Source:xinhuanet