“One of the main focuses of the meeting is to expand China’s high-level opening up for global development.” For the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the Helsinki Times of Finland paid attention to this point. On the 21st, the full text of the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization” reviewed and passed by the plenary session was released, which made special deployment on opening up to the outside world, proposing that it must adhere to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world, adhere to openness to promote reforms, and build a higher level of a new system of an open economy.
Analysts believe that this releases a clear signal of China’s expansion of opening up to the outside world, and the new blueprint of China’s reform will release a more generous open dividend to the world.
Openness is the distinctive hallmark of Chinese-style modernization. From the establishment of 22 pilot free trade zones and the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port to the signing and entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, from shortening the negative list of foreign investment access to reducing market access restrictions in services sectors, such as telecommunication and medical care, and from the promotion of high-quality construction of the “Belt and Road” to the establishment of international platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) and the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), over the past decade or so, China’s opening up has become more and more substantial. For seven consecutive years, China has ranked as the world’s largest country in terms of trade in goods; for 11 consecutive years, it has ranked among the world’s top three countries in terms of outward investment; its capital flows have covered 155 countries and regions; and the depth of China’s integration with the world has never been greater.
At present, the changes unseen in a century are accelerating, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, economic globalization is encountering headwinds, and openness is increasingly becoming a “scarce commodity.” In the face of the common development problems of mankind and the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change, China’s insistence on promoting high-level opening up to the outside world not only comes from the successful practice of opening up to promote reform and development, but also is an inevitable move that grasps the laws of economic development and conforms to the trend of the times, and demonstrates its determination and commitment to share opportunities with the world.
What China shares with the world is, first of all, its mega-market. The plenary session proposed that, relying on the advantage of the mega-market, China should enhance its opening-up capacity in expanding international cooperation. This means that China is endeavoring to open its doors wider, making the Chinese market a large market shared by the world. This makes many multinational enterprises full of expectations. Zhao Xiaochuan, Sales Director for Business Communications equipment of German audio equipment manufacturer Sennheiser (Greater China), told International Sharp Comments, “The Chinese market is full of vigor and opportunities, not only a cradle for new projects, but also a fertile ground for the growth of innovative technologies and products.”
More importantly, China’s opening up to the outside world is advancing steadily from a “goods and factors” type of opening up to an institutional type of opening up, such as rules, regulations, management and standards. To put it simply, domestic economic and trade rules should be brought into line with international standards to meet the requirements of building a new open economic system at a higher level. This point was also emphasized at the Plenary Session. The Resolution calls for steadily expanding system-oriented opening up, proactively docking with international high-standard economic and trade rules, deepening the reform of the foreign trade system, and deepening the reform of the management system for foreign investment and outward investment. It is generally believed that this means that institutional transaction costs will be further reduced and international trade and investment will be freer and more facilitated; China will be more proactive in integrating into the international economy, so that China’s big market will become the world’s big opportunity.
Among them, the important deployment made by the Plenary Session on expanding the utilization of foreign investment, as well as the “additions and reductions” embedded in it, are of particular concern to foreign investors. From rationally reducing the negative list of foreign investment access and implementing measures to fully abolish restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, to expanding the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, and improving the system for facilitating the entry of foreign personnel into China, etc., there are many more areas in which foreign investors can participate, and it is more convenient for foreigners to travel, reside, receive medical treatment and make payments in China. In addition, guaranteeing national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in terms of access to factors, qualification licenses, standard-setting and government procurement has provided them with a fairer and more open competitive environment. In the first half of this year, China saw 26,870 new foreign-invested enterprises established, an increase of 14.2% year-on-year, and attracted nearly 500 billion yuan of foreign investment, which is at a high level in the past 10 years. This is a recognition of China’s business environment and a vote of confidence in China’s unswerving promotion of reform and opening up.
Expanding opening up to the outside world, not only “bringing in”, but also “going out”.
Nowadays, China’s “new trio” represented by new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have become popular in overseas markets, increasing the world’s high-quality supply and promoting the transformation and upgrading of local economies. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched by China has also brought great changes to the world. Over the past 10 years, this initiative has attracted the participation of more than three-quarters of the world’s countries and more than 30 international organizations, and has stimulated nearly one trillion dollars of investment. The Resolution proposes to improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, and to coordinate the promotion of major landmark projects and “small but beautiful” projects for people’s wellbeing, which will undoubtedly inject new momentum into world development and bring more benefits to the people of all countries.
In this process, the concept of “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits” advocated by China has brought a new atmosphere to global governance. The Resolution emphasizes that Chinese-style modernization is modernization on the path of peaceful development. The Decision emphasizes that Chinese-style modernization is modernization on the path of peaceful development. From promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind to proposing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, China has proved with its actions that it is not pursuing a modernization of its own, but a modernization of the world that is based on peaceful development, mutual benefit and cooperation, and common prosperity.
“It is very inspiring to observe how Chinese modernization is progressing and what the West can learn from it,” Michael Schumann, Chairman of the Board of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade, said this about the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. It is foreseeable that China will firmly promote Chinese-style modernization with high-level opening up to the outside world and release more and more dividends of opening up to the world.
