Nation's opening-up seen as driver of global growth

An international cruise ship anchored off the coast of Sanya, Hainan province. [Photo by Sha Xiaofeng/For China Daily]

China is firmly advancing high-level opening-up amid downward pressures and challenges from multiple global crises, which will help create favorable conditions for global economic growth and for rebalancing the world economy, prominent experts said at the 88th International Forum on China Reform in Haikou, Hainan province.

Wang Bin, vice-governor of Hainan, highlighted China's firm determination to expand opening-up and actively promote economic globalization, saying that the next few years will mark a critical period for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

He told the forum that the province will fully implement the moves in China's key strategy for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, offering more growth opportunities for global investors.

" (We see) rising growth opportunities in Hainan's participation in fostering a new pattern of development that is focused on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows … as well as the exploration of a new system for an open economy."

Wang made the remarks at the forum themed "China and the World in Grasping Opportunities and Coping with Challenges". The event, which started on Saturday, brought together over 500 experts from home and abroad to discuss topics such as high-level opening-up and high-quality development.

While delivering a video speech at the forum, Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the Chinese path to modernization, highlighted in the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, has aroused global attention, and an open and prosperous China will continue to be a stabilizer and growth engine for the world. "China's contribution to the world has won widespread applause from the international community, especially from developing countries," Qu said.

He said that China is determined to advance modernization, carry out reforms and expand opening-up, uphold true multilateralism and economic globalization, and provide public goods such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Citing the latest forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, Qu said that next year, the global economy will face headwinds as growth is set to slow in major developed countries, while China, with its steady development, is expected to account for 30 percent of global economic growth.

"An open, prosperous and stable China will continue to play a key role of stabilizer and driving force for world economic growth," he said.

In the face of a more complicated and grimmer international environment, China is taking active moves to deal with the challenges ahead.

According to the recently released report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the nation will pursue high-quality development and promote high-standard opening-up, sending a clear signal that China is committed to reform, opening-up and development.

The report said China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up. It also strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development and to contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all peoples.

Citing the report, Chen Weidong, president of the Bank of China Research Institute, said the nation will not change its resolve to open wider to the outside world despite changes in the international environment and mounting risks.

He called for more efforts to strengthen internal circulation, improve security capabilities in key fields such as food, energy and industrial and supply chains, and promote the improvement of the global governance system.

Against that backdrop, Wu Hailong, president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said that promoting opening-up and cooperation remains the overwhelming choice for China to participate in global competition, adding that the nation should focus on carrying out cooperation and expanding markets in emerging economies and developing countries.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, said: "In the face of challenges from multiple global crises on top of each other, China is firmly advancing high-level opening-up. This is not only a practical choice based on its own need to coordinate development and security, but also an important measure to actively share China's big market with the rest of the world."

Chi said that expanding areas of opening-up is an important condition for development, and China should coordinate development and security by advancing high-level opening-up.

He said that the nation needs to take the initiative in importing high-quality goods and services from around the world to gain the initiative in unleashing domestic demand potential.

It is necessary for China to more deeply participate in the global industrial division of labor and cooperation, further improve interaction between domestic and international circulation, and strengthen weak links in industrial, supply and innovation chains, he added.

Taking place both online and offline, the forum was organized by the China Institute for Reform and Development, Bank of China, China Daily and the China Public Diplomacy Association.