Wang Heng: The Epochal Value and Global Significance of High-level Opening-up
The continuous expansion and elevation of opening up to the outside world, utilizing opening up to promote reform and development, serves as a crucial "magic weapon" [1] for the steady stream of new achievements in China’s development. General Secretary Xi Jinping recently published an important article titled "Unswervingly Promoting High-Quality Opening Up," which profoundly addresses major theoretical and practical issues in the New Era, including the significance, inner substance, requirements, and paths for improving high-quality opening up. It provides an action guide for implementing opening up on a larger scale, across wider fields, and at deeper levels. Currently, high-quality opening up is being steadily advanced and comprehensively deepened, integrating deeply with the construction of Chinese-path modernization. Internally, high-quality opening up is a vital path for China to develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, forming a virtuous interaction with Chinese-path modernization; externally, as an outward extension of Chinese-path modernization, high-quality opening up deeply aligns with the modernization aspirations of developing countries, manifesting significant value of the times and world significance in stabilizing the global economy, improving global governance, and driving the process of sustainable development. For the current and future period, we must promote the steady progress of high-quality opening up, facilitate economic and trade cooperation, governance synergy, and universal benefit and inclusiveness, thereby opening broad prospects for advancing Chinese-path modernization and building a community with a shared future for humanity.
1. Mutually reinforcing the domestic and international dual circulation to promote the joint construction of an innovative and inclusive open world economy
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "China adheres to true multilateralism, promotes universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy." As the economy making the greatest contribution to the world economy, China provides the key momentum and broad prospects for the construction of an open world economy.
To jointly build an innovative and inclusive open world economy, we must accelerate the construction of a new development pattern in which the domestic cycle serves as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual circulation mutually reinforce each other. First, the new development pattern provides solid support for an open world economy. This pattern is both an internal requirement for reconciling the contradictions between domestic productive forces and relations of production, and a key path for coordinating economic and trade relations between China and other countries. Internally, by relying on the world's most complete industrial system and the advantages of a super-large-scale market, it releases the potential of domestic demand, optimizes the supply structure, and smooths the domestic economic cycle. Externally, by relying on the innovative vitality and scale effects of the domestic market, it integrates into the global network of division of labor and cooperation with higher quality, opposes protectionism and unilateralism, and consolidates the foundation for an open world economy. Second, the open world economy provides a platform for constructing the new development pattern. The two are deeply compatible; by reducing regional transaction costs and trade barriers, they promote the free flow and optimal allocation of factors of production across a broader scope. This not only injects new impetus into the economic development of partner countries but also enables the reintegration and extension of global industrial and supply chains, forming a tighter and more diverse network of international economic cooperation. Finally, the new development pattern and the open economy jointly shape a far-reaching influence. Close economic and trade ties and interest bonds provide a common interest basis for the negotiation of international rules and the operation of multilateral mechanisms, ensuring the steady progress of the construction of a new system for an open economy. The cross-border flow of goods, capital, technology, and talent serves as a bridge for contact, understanding, and cooperation among people from different cultural backgrounds, providing broad and direct channels for cultural dissemination, the clashing of ideas, and scientific and educational cooperation, nourishing the exchange vitality of an open civilization. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period [2], China’s average annual contribution rate to global economic growth has remained around 30%, which both demonstrates the effectiveness of constructing the new development pattern and confirms the vigorous vitality of an open world economy.
To further advance high-quality opening up, we must focus on key areas of high-quality development and act in synergy. First, we must fortify the foundation of the domestic cycle to empower and stabilize the open economy. We can activate consumption momentum by expanding the middle-income group and optimizing the income distribution structure, accelerate the construction of a national unified large market, resolutely break down local protectionism and market fragmentation barriers, strengthen the role of scientific and technological innovation in leading industrial upgrades, and improve the adaptability of the supply system to domestic demand, thereby consolidating the autonomous foundation of economic development. Second, we must integrate into the global division of labor with high quality to set standards and expand boundaries for the open economy. We must effectively build and develop pilot free trade zones and free trade ports, carry out larger-scale and deeper "pioneer trials" [3], create new benchmarks for opening up, and firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system. Third, we must expand the space for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation to gather momentum for the open economy. We should optimize the layout of regional economic and trade cooperation, implement existing free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with high quality, and deepen pragmatic cooperation with countries of the Global South in areas such as infrastructure connectivity, industrial capacity cooperation, and market alignment, promoting the sharing of development opportunities and opposing all forms of protectionism to jointly maintain the openness, stability, security, and smoothness of global industrial and supply chains. Fourth, we must optimize the environment for the cross-border flow of factors to clear the pathways of the open economy. We will continue to improve a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investment to enhance attractiveness, facilitate international travel for personnel, promote the efficient and convenient flow of innovative factors such as knowledge, technology, and data, and raise the development level of trade in services.
2. Utilizing institutional opening up to construct a more just and reasonable global governance system
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must steadily expand institutional opening up, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, deepen the reform of the management systems for foreign trade, foreign investment, and outbound investment, and create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment." Practicing global governance initiatives and constructing a more just and reasonable global governance system requires the continuous advancement of institutional opening up, forming institutional momentum for governance synergy, regulating the operational order of economic and trade cooperation, and building a framework for dialogue and mutual learning among civilizations.
Using institutional opening up to advance deep-level reform shapes a new ecosystem for global governance. First, institutional opening up provides foundational support for governance synergy. Institutional opening up emphasizes the alignment and integration of rules, regulations, management, and standards. It transcends traditional opening up based on the flow of goods and factors, focusing more on constructing a new system of an open economy at the institutional level that links with high-standard international economic and trade rules, which is conducive to forming a unified, transparent, and predictable institutional environment. Second, governance synergy pushes global governance toward fairness and justice. On one hand, fair and transparent international rules establish a unified yardstick for global economic and trade activities, effectively constraining market monopolies and other distorting behaviors while reducing transaction costs and policy uncertainty. On the other hand, global governance mechanisms provide an institutionalized dialogue platform for different civilizations and value systems, transcending civilizational barriers and allowing different civilizations to express their demands and engage in mutual learning within a framework of mutual respect. This pushes global governance to shift from Western dominance to multi-polar co-governance, and from power games to a consensus on rules. Standardized economic and trade order reduces trade frictions and developmental imbalances caused by a lack of rules, creating an environment of fair competition for all countries, especially developing ones. An institutionalized framework for civilizational dialogue condenses value consensus through rules, laying a foundation of cooperation for responding to global challenges such as climate change and public health crises. Finally, Chinese practice confirms the governance value of institutional opening up. Currently, China’s efforts to promote the connectivity of rules and standards under the "Belt and Road," lead discussions on global digital and green finance rules, and implement the RCEP are practical actions that activate governance synergy and achieve international justice through institutional opening up. Only by continuously strengthening this institutional momentum can we build a truly inclusive, universally beneficial, and sustainable new ecosystem for global governance.
To further advance high-quality opening up, we must continuously raise the level of institutional opening up. First, we must promote the bidirectional interaction of rules to improve the adaptability of institutional opening up. We must both proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules—deepening domestic reforms in areas such as market supervision, intellectual property, and data flows through "stress tests" in pilot free trade zones to link with the international community while remaining rooted in national conditions—and also transform mature domestic experiences into international rule proposals. We should lead consultations and cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy and supply chain security, achieving a transformation from "adapting to rules" to "co-creating rules." Second, we must solidify the foundation of the business environment to enhance the attractiveness of institutional opening up. We will fully implement laws and regulations related to the protection of foreign investment to ensure fair competition for all types of entities. We will strengthen the "whole-chain protection" of intellectual property and enhance the credibility of law enforcement. We will strengthen the publicity and interpretation of opening-up policies to stabilize policy expectations, ensuring that global investors are willing to come, able to stay, and capable of developing well, thereby transforming institutional advantages into cooperative results. Third, we must build high-level platforms for opening up to expand the influence of institutional opening up. We will develop pilot free trade zones and free trade ports with high standards, granting them greater autonomy in reform to carry out breakthrough pilots in investment access, trade facilitation, and financial opening. Relying on national-level platforms such as the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), the China International Import Expo (CIIE), and the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), we will promote the efficient docking of global factors and resources, making these platforms important windows for demonstrating the results of institutional opening up and condensing international consensus. Fourth, we must empower partners for common development to manifest the inclusiveness of institutional opening up. We will include issues such as the infrastructure gap and technological divide in developing countries in the core agenda, guiding the directional flow of resources through rule design so that institutional dividends are effectively transformed into momentum for universally beneficial development.
3. Utilizing the fruits of open development to benefit the people of all countries more broadly and fairly
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must use opening up to relieve the difficulties of development, gather the strength of cooperation, collect the momentum of innovation, and seek the blessing of shared benefits, pushing economic globalization forward, strengthening the developmental momentum of all countries, and letting the fruits of development benefit the people of all countries more broadly and fairly." High-quality opening up should take the improvement of people’s well-being as its fundamental purpose, clarify the developmental direction of an open economy, and condense the consensus on rules for open governance.
High-quality opening up promotes high-quality development, painting a new picture of universal benefit for people's livelihoods. First, it injects a "livelihood core" into economic and trade cooperation. Different civilizations contain common pursuits for people's livelihoods, pointing out a value direction for economic and trade relations—namely, promoting international cooperation with the improvement of livelihoods at the center. This guides the layout of industrial chains to account for the balanced distribution of employment opportunities, ensures the supply of basic needs in trade relations, and focuses on the capacity building of public services in investment cooperation, ensuring that economic and trade activities always revolve around human development. Second, it solidifies the foundation of public opinion for governance synergy. The deep-seated momentum for the reform of global governance stems from the common pursuit of fairness and universal benefit across different civilizations. Mutual learning among civilizations pushes the world to consider the basic needs of developing countries in resource allocation, to include the actual conditions of different developmental stages in standard-setting, and to prioritize the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups in risk response, ensuring that governance synergy is always based on people's livelihoods. Third, it transforms into practical livelihood outcomes. Promoting the tilt of technology sharing toward livelihood fields such as poverty reduction, healthcare, and education encourages policy coordination to focus on basic needs like food, clothing, housing, and transportation, changing common development from a concept into a tangible improvement of life for every family. For example, international cooperation projects like the China-Laos Railway and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway have created tax revenue and driven employment for local areas, allowing the people of different countries to truly feel a sense of gain from mutual learning and cooperation.
To further advance high-quality opening up, we must use the universal benefit of people's livelihoods as a bond. First, we must activate livelihood potential through opening industrial cooperation. In the layout of industrial opening up, we should combine the industrial characteristics and livelihood needs of different civilizations to create integrated industrial clusters that both inherit civilizational skills and create jobs, making industrial opening up a convergence point for civilizational mutual learning and livelihood improvement. Second, we must integrate livelihood wisdom through open innovation networks. By building cross-border networks for innovation cooperation, we can focus on common livelihood challenges, gather innovative ideas from various civilizations, and integrate wisdom adapted to nature and sustainable development from different cultures to carry out joint research and technological breakthroughs, making open innovation networks a platform for integrating diverse civilizational wisdom to solve livelihood problems. Third, we must assist livelihood projects through open financial cooperation. By innovating models of financial opening up, we can guide international financial resources toward livelihood projects and establish special cooperation funds to support projects that both reflect local civilizational characteristics and effectively improve people's lives, using finance to promote civilizational inheritance and livelihood improvement. Fourth, we must increase the consensus of public opinion through open talent exchanges. By expanding the scope of opening up and exchange for talent, we can encourage professionals in livelihood fields to share service experiences and enhance understanding of each other’s concepts and practices, making the opening up of talent a bridge for promoting mutual learning among civilizations and optimizing livelihood services.
Opening up is a vital momentum for the progress of human civilization and the only path for world prosperity and development. To promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and practice the common values of all humanity, we must unswervingly promote high-quality opening up to create a favorable external environment for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization.