Opening Up for a Better World

“China is committed to the fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial opening up strategy,” said Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress on October 16, 2022. It was China’s latest vow to continue opening up.

China’s Opening Fuels World Economy

Over the past 10 years, China’s endeavors to further opening up have reached a higher level in terms of trade. China’s total volume of trade in goods and services increased from US$4.4 trillion in 2012 to US$6.9 trillion in 2021, ranking first in the world.

Moreover, China continues to optimize the market-oriented business environment and expand the scale of foreign capital utilization. In 2021, China attracted US$160.4 billion of foreign capital, an increase of 62.9 percent over 2012, ranking second in the world.

 According to a study by the Institute of Quantitative & Technological Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, every US$10,000 increase in China’s manufacturing imports creates an average of 22.84 jobs globally.

China is striving to create new opportunities for the world through its own development and contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all peoples, said Xi at the 20th CPC National Congress.

After benefiting from its own opening-up policies, China has been sharing the fruits of development with countries all over the world.

Belt and Road Initiative: Benefiting the World

On July 11, 2022, a freight train loaded with electronics, mechanical parts and daily necessities arrived in Duisberg, Germany, after departing southwestern China’s Chongqing Municipality on June 23. The trip marked the 10,000th made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing).

Statistics show that China-Europe freight trains had reached 200 cities in 24 European countries by August 2022, providing strong support for development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road during visits to Central Asia and Southeast Asia, which later jointly became known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initiative focuses on promoting policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure and facilities, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties through extensive consultation, joint contributions, and shared benefits, with the ultimate goal of ensuring benefits for all.

The BRI has increased participants’ trade volume by 9.7 percent and global trade volume by 6.2 percent. It has increased global income by 2.9 percent. A report from the World Bank showed that joint construction of BRI projects is expected to lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty.

From World Factory to World Market

An open China is transforming from a world factory to a world market.

A total of 260 Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises have confirmed participation in the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is scheduled for this November.

The CIIE was first held in 2018. The world’s first expo focused on imports is now held annually in Shanghai. “China’s door will never be closed,” declared Xi at the opening ceremony of the first CIIE. “Instead, it will only open wider and wider.”

According to statistics from China’s Ministry of Commerce, exhibitors at the four previous CIIE events from 2018 to 2021 launched more than 1,500 new products, technologies, and services, with an accumulated intended turnover exceeding US$270 billion.

From 2010 to 2020, China’s contribution to growth of world imports reached 27.7 percent, far exceeding that of the United States and the European Union.

Cultural Inclusiveness

China’s efforts to further opening up have been clear in other sectors as well.

“Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and further development,” remarked Xi at the opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations held in Beijing from May 15 to 22, 2018. The conference focused on cultural exchange and mutual learning among Asian civilizations as well as building a human community with a shared future.

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the conference, Xi offered a four-point proposal: treating each other with respect and as equals; appreciating the beauty of all civilizations; adhering to openness, inclusiveness, and mutual learning; and keeping pace with the times.

In February 2022, the Beijing Winter Olympic Games gathered nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries and regions in China’s capital. After the show-stopping Summer Olympics in 2008, the capital city of China was happy to welcome friends from all over the world again, more than a decade later.

“The Olympic spirit could only shine that brightly because the Chinese people set the stage in such an excellent way—and in a safe way,” said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee. “The over 300 million people now engaged in winter sports and the great success of the Chinese athletes have ensured the positive legacy of these Olympic Winter Games.”

“Whatever the change in the international landscape, China will always hold high the banner of reform and opening up,” pledged Xi Jinping at the 2022 World Economic Forum virtual session. As China has maintained the adherence to its policies for opening up as promised, it has continuously shared the benefits of its development with the world.