China sticks to openness, win-win cooperation in seeking development

By He Yin

Reform and opening-up is the most distinctive feature of contemporary China and a game-changing move in making the country what it is today.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the signal that China will accelerate market-oriented reform and opening-up in the second half of the year released at the recently concluded annual sessions of China’s top legislature and political advisory body has caught more attention around the world.

The Chinese economy has entered a pivotal stage for transforming the growth model, improving economic structure, and fostering new growth drivers. The economic operation now faces relatively heavy pressure due to difficulties and challenges caused by intertwined structural, institutional and cyclical problems.

The country’s long-term efforts to tap into reform and opening-up to stabilize employment, guarantee people’s livelihood, boost consumption, stimulate market demand, and secure development have helped it effectively cope with impacts and create a positive cycle of economic growth.

Its perseverance in adhering to reform and opening-up and making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to all has won wide praise from the international community.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy is facing severe recession, when industrial and supply chains have been disrupted, volume of international trade and investment has shrunk significantly, and commodity markets are experiencing great volatility.

During this unusual period, China needs to give an answer to the pressing question of how it can turn pressure into driving force and minimize the impacts of the pandemic. The answer should be based on the present situation, take all factors into consideration, and be given from a long-term perspective.

This year marks a critical point in China’s endeavor to comprehensively deepen reform. While paying close attention to ensure that it can meet the target of making decisive results in reforms in crucial areas and at key links, the country is also trying its best to carry out and make a good start for the reforms put forward at the fourth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last year.

By issuing a series of documents on accelerating the improvement of the socialist market economy and reaching a new stage in the large-scale development of the western region, China has shown the world its active efforts in pushing forward with reform of the economic system and reforms in other fields from a higher starting point, at a higher level, and towards greater goals so as to build a high-level socialist market economy that is more systematic, mature and well-shaped.

Accurately grasping the changes both at home and abroad, China takes meeting domestic demand as its starting point and ultimate purpose, and spends efforts on gradually creating a new development pattern where domestic and foreign markets can boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

The gradually unfolding blueprint for China’s economic system reform is expected to help the country continuously unleash domestic demand and enhance the driving forces for medium- and long-term economic development, said a commentary published by Reuters.

China has adhered to the principle of market-oriented reform and high-level opening-up, and makes efforts to inject new growth momentum into development by improving institutional weak links, pointed out Malaysian newspaper The Star.

Efforts to promote reform and development through opening-up are crucial to China’s constant new achievements in development. China has unswervingly chosen the right side of history and continued pushing forward with reform and opening-up despite the mounting wave of protectionism around the world.

The Report on the Work of the Government released by China this year has once again shown the world the country’s efforts to achieve development by facilitating openness and win-win cooperation and resolve to promote the construction of an open world economy.

China will stabilize the overall performance of foreign trade, step up utilization of foreign capital, focus on quality in the joint pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative, and promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, said the report, helping the world see the bright prospects of a higher level of opening-up.

China will make good preparations for the third China International Import Expo, work actively to expand imports, and foster a large globally-oriented market of higher standards, according to the report.

In addition, the country also plans to grant greater autonomy in reform and opening up to pilot free trade zones, significantly shorten the negative list for foreign investment, and foster an enabling market environment in which all companies, Chinese and foreign, are treated as equals and engaged in fair competition, said the report.

China has always had a friendly and positive environment for investment, praised Luka Mucic, chief financial officer (CFO) of German software giant SAP SE, expressing hope to enhance cooperation with China on innovation.

China has been committed to creating an open and fair market environment, which is helpful for boosting investors’ confidence and promoting global economic recovery, according to Peter Drysdale, head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research at the Australian National University.

Erik Berglöf, director of the Institute of Global Affairs (IGA) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has paid close attention to new prospects for China’s infrastructure construction, saying the prospects are very important and beneficial to world economy.

These voices from foreign business circle and academic circle represented the international community’s confidence in and expectations for Chinese economy.

The annual sessions of China’s top legislature and top political advisory body always reveal the secret of China’s success in pursuing development through new steps in carrying forward reform and opening-up.

The key to China’s success in coping with challenges has always been its endeavor to continue reform and opening-up, according to international observers, noting that China’s efforts to further reform and opening-up has helped the country tackle challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s widely believed in the international community that as a country which is always trying to create new opportunities in crises and open up new prospects in a changing situation, China is bound to work together with global partners and create new vision and make new contributions to the common development of various countries while continuously deepening reform and opening-up in a comprehensive way.