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– The struggling world economy is now facing a hard and unpredictable path to recovery amid a raging pandemic, and economic globalization is riding into strong headwinds amid rising trade protectionism and isolationism worldwide.
– In this age of expanding global connectivity, the future of all countries are bonded together. As China has reaffirmed its commitment to openness, it is determined to join the rest of the world to build that common future a better one for all.
China’s new commitments made at the just-ended key session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to promoting high-level opening-up and expanding win-win cooperation will deliver new opportunities to a world that craves for the hope of renewal.
According to a communique released after the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, China will in the next five years take new and bold steps in reform and opening-up, basically complete the building of a high-standard market system, and form the new institutions of a higher-level open economy.
China will also leverage the advantages of its huge market to promote international cooperation and achieve win-win results, the communique says.
Over the past 40 years, by sticking to reform and opening-up, China has achieved steady and dynamic economic growth. In the meantime, a fast-growing China has become a reliable booster of global economic development. According to official data, China has ranked first in terms of contribution to global economic growth since 2006, and has contributed about 30 percent to global growth annually since 2013.
The country has also fulfilled its World Trade Organization commitments, and reduced the average tariff rate to 7.5 percent, exceeding all other major developing countries and approaching the level of developed countries.
And during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, which runs from 2016 to 2020, China has pushed ahead with further opening-up, stimulating reform, development and innovation at home while sharing opportunities with other countries.
Foreign direct investment, a bellwether of globalization and economic confidence, halved globally in the first half of 2020 amid the pandemic, but China largely held steady with just a 4-percent decline, according to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a UN trade body.
The numbers attest to not only China’s adherence to its fundamental policy of opening-up, but also global confidence in China’s economic vitality. While opening to the world proves to be key to China’s economic growth over the past decades, high-quality development of China’s economy in the future can only be achieved with even greater openness and broader cooperation.
The struggling world economy is now facing a hard and unpredictable path to recovery amid a raging pandemic, and economic globalization is riding into strong headwinds amid rising trade protectionism and isolationism worldwide.
What China has learned over the past 40 years is that it can accomplish its development dream only by embracing a wider world. That is why China has made rounds after rounds of relentless efforts to open up wider to the rest of the world by committing to deeper reforms, lower tariffs, shorter negative lists, more convenient market access, more transparent market rules and a more attractive business environment.
At this challenging time, all countries should reject the false temptation of turning inward. They should boost trade and economic cooperation, uphold multilateralism, and jointly build an open world economy so that globalization can better serve the interests of all.
In this age of expanding global connectivity, the future of all countries are bonded together. As China has reaffirmed its commitment to openness, it is determined to join the rest of the world to build that common future a better one for all.
Xinhua News Agency
