Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2024, shows the China Pavilion at the Seventh China International Import Expo, which showcased the latest outcomes of Chinese modernization and high-standard opening up. Photo: IC PHOTO

Opening up is a distinct hallmark of contemporary China. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has consistently emphasized the importance of expanding high-standard opening up. As he remarked at the opening ceremony of the Fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in November 2022, “Openness is a key driving force behind the progress of human civilizations and an intrinsic path toward global prosperity and development.”

Commitment to opening up 

As early as April 2018, President Xi Jinping had stated in his keynote address to the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference: “China’s door of opening up will not be closed and will only open even wider.” He has since reiterated this commitment on multiple occasions.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has pursued a more proactive opening-up strategy, accelerating the development of pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port, and facilitating the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Jan. 1, 2022. China has become a major trading partner for over 140 countries and regions, fostering a broader, deeper, and more comprehensive opening up framework across various sectors. Through platforms such as the CIIE, China International Fair for Trade in Services, and China International Big Data Industry Expo, China has transformed its vast market into global opportunities.

To advance high-standard opening up, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, “We will steadily expand institutional opening up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards.” Unlike policy-driven opening up, institutional opening up prioritizes transparency, stability, and predictability, which are critical for boosting confidence among domestic and international market entities in China’s long-term market potential.

The Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment (2022 Edition), effective from early 2023, added 239 articles and amended 167 provisions. While maintaining overall policy continuity, it follows the principle of “increasing articles and optimizing structure” to further broaden the range of encouraged foreign investments.

In addition, China has prioritized institutional opening up in cutting-edge areas of international trade, actively participating in rulemaking for cross-border e-commerce, cross-border data flows, and digital technology standards. To engage in international cooperation on the digital economy and the rulemaking process, China also applied to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) in 2021, demonstrating its resolve to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules to promote high-standard opening up.

Benefits to global development 

“The world today is confronted with accelerated changes unseen in a century as well as a sluggish economic recovery. We should commit ourselves to openness to meet development challenges, foster synergy for cooperation, build the momentum of innovation, and deliver benefits to all. We should steadily advance economic globalization, enhance every country’s dynamism of growth, and provide all nations with greater and fairer access to the fruits of development,” said President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the fifth CIIE.

Global data indicates that China’s contribution to world economic growth has consistently exceeded 30% for many years. According to an International Monetary Fund study, a 1 percentage point increase in China’s growth rate can boost global growth by approximately 0.3 percentage points, providing significant momentum to the global economy. China’s steady economic recovery offers valuable certainty in an uncertain world and vast opportunities for global businesses. In the first quarter of 2023, China’s actual use of foreign capital reached 408.45 billion yuan, a 4.9% year-on-year increase, affirming China’s position as one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations.

China has also injected robust development momentum into participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), particularly developing nations in Africa, offering a Chinese model for modernization. Over the past decade, the BRI and the vision of building a human community with a shared future proposed by President Xi Jinping have evolved from concepts into tangible actions, building global consensus and collective strength for a better world.

In the first four months of 2023, Chinese enterprises’ non-financial direct investment in BRI-related countries reached $7.53 billion, up 9% year-on-year, accounting for 17.8% of the total investment during the period. Following its own path and promoting mutually beneficial exchanges through opening up are essential to Chinese modernization.

Balancing development and security

A key component of Xi Jinping Thought on Economy, balancing development and security is deeply integrated into General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourse on opening up. In the second group study session of the politburo of the 20th CPC Central Committee in January 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping highlighted the importance of accelerating the building of a new development pattern for consolidating the economic foundation and for enhancing the security and stability of development.

On one hand, openness drives development. In recent years, China has strengthened its enterprises’ global resource allocation capabilities by expanding access to key sectors (e.g., national characteristic service export bases), optimizing foreign investment structures, and refining the types and layouts of overseas investments. Unlike earlier industrial upgrading paths, current strategies focus on upgrading nodes within industrial, supply, and value chains, with a growing emphasis on open innovation. Foreign-funded enterprises are actively integrating into China’s high-quality economic development, sharing the dividends of openness. Across the country, high-value foreign investment projects with strong spillover effects are being implemented, supporting China’s efforts to address weaknesses, promote industrial transformation, and drive coordinated development of upstream and downstream enterprises. These projects also foster industrial clustering and improve local employment levels and quality.

On the other hand, security issues in opening up must be addressed effectively. As the only country with all industrial categories in the United Nations Industrial Classification, China boasts a unique competitive advantage in its industrial and supply chains. However, it faces restructuring challenges from the localization of global industrial chains, regionalization of labor division, and diversification of supply chains. At the same time, some domestic companies remain unaware of the long-term risks involved. Therefore, during high-standard opening up, it is vital to carefully manage critical areas such as food, energy, data, and financial security to maintain the initiative over its future development while ensuring both development and security. 

Yan Kun and Liu Cheng are research fellows from the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

Edited by CHEN MIRONG