Country’s door will only be opened wider

The report delivered at the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on Sunday stressed that China will continue to open-up to the outside world, and accelerate the building of a new development pattern in which internal circulation is the mainstay and internal and external circulations are mutually reinforcing.

The report represents a guidance for China’s future opening-up.

There are some voices, both at home and abroad, alleging that focusing on domestic circulation means that China will contract its opening-up and pursue self-sufficiency. This is a false assessment, as the new development paradigm comprises both circulations and is being implemented in accordance with a careful assessment of the risks and uncertainties arising from the complicated domestic and international development environments.

Although a few countries are endeavoring to roll back globalization and trying to suppress China’s industries and technologies, China’s door to the outside world has never been closed; instead it has been opened wider.

Statistics show that from 2012 to 2021, China’s foreign trade volume increased from 24.4 trillion yuan ($3.39 trillion) to 39.1 trillion yuan, and its international market share increased from 10.4 percent to 13.5 percent. It is the largest trading partner of 166 countries and regions. Moreover, China has been the most important engine for the global economy, as its contribution to the world’s economic growth has remained stable at over 30 percent for many years.

China’s role as one of the world’s most important suppliers of goods and services has been strengthened at a critical time when the COVID-19 pandemic shocks and geopolitical conflicts are threatening to disrupt global industry and supply chains. China has held high the banner of free trade, responding to anti-globalization with “globalization”, and the unreasonable suppression of its enterprises and the technological blockade with continued openness and inclusiveness.

China has introduced a series of effective policies to improve its domestic market and it continues to be a hot destination for foreign direct investment. In the first eight months this year, the amount of foreign investment actually used in China was 892.74 billion yuan, up 16.4 percent year-on-year.

And making domestic circulation the mainstay does not mean rejecting openness. It is a natural move at this stage in the country’s development to transition from investment and exports to domestic demand as the main driver of growth. The implementation of the dual circulation paradigm is a manifestation of the country’s modernization, rather than it turning inward to isolation and exclusion.

The country’s decision-makers are well aware that the trend of global economic globalization is irreversible, and no country can pursue development behind closed doors.

Editorial, China Daily