Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 4th Title: Expanding high-level opening-up to the outside world - Implementing the spirit of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee to achieve the successful conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" Commentary 4

Xinhua News Agency reporters Zou Duowei, Wu Maohui, and Pan Dexin

Opening up to the outside world is related to the overall economic and social development of my country. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held recently proposed to expand high-level opening up to the outside world and stabilize the basic foundation of foreign trade and foreign investment.

At present, the international environment is becoming more complex and severe, and expanding opening up is becoming more difficult and requires higher requirements. To implement the meeting deployment and achieve a successful conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan, we need to strengthen policy coordination, continuously optimize the business environment, better play the role of various platforms, cultivate new advantages in international economic cooperation and competition through high-level opening up to the outside world, and open up new space for high-quality development.

Strong support to improve corporate risk resistance

This summer, while the "Su Chao" is booming, the "Su Zao" is also heating up.

With the advantages of zero emissions, low energy consumption, intelligence and high efficiency, Xuzhou Engineering Machinery Group Co., Ltd. has recently been equipped with 15 pure electric loaders tailored for the European market and ready to go out to sea. According to statistics from Nanjing Customs, in the first half of this year, Jiangsu Province exported 43.17 billion yuan of construction machinery such as cranes and excavators, an increase of 17.9% year-on-year.

In order to facilitate these "big guys" to go overseas, Nanjing Customs has helped enterprises reduce the cargo inspection rate, exempt guarantees, compress residence time in port, and reduce logistics costs by cultivating AEO advanced certification enterprises and innovating the "direct installation" supervision model.

Enterprises strive to break through and policies are escorting them.

The meeting proposed a number of specific measures such as "helping foreign trade enterprises that have been hit hard", "strengthening financing support", "promoting the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade", and "accelerating the cultivation of emerging pillar industries with international competitiveness".

"Since this year, some countries have abused tariffs and seriously undermined international trade rules, which not only brings severe challenges to global economic development, but also causes order losses, goods backlogs, and cash flow tightness to my country's foreign trade enterprises. In this case, finding sales channels for them from the aspects of financing, domestic and foreign trade integration, will help stabilize orders and expand the market." Zhuang Rui, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, said.

To implement and achieve the implementation of the "policy package" for helping enterprises and benefiting enterprises, we must make precise efforts, coordinated efforts and continue to make efforts.

Promote the construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, optimize port opening layout, and deepen reform and innovation in national-level economic and technological development zones... Since the beginning of this year, my country has empowered foreign trade enterprises to break through the situation and expand new things from multiple aspects such as promoting comprehensive reform, major platform construction, and economic and trade industry cooperation. The latest China Customs Trade Survey results show that confidence in exporting and importing companies has rebounded for two consecutive months.

Policy is the "compass" that guides the direction of development. Zhang Yu, director of the International Economic and Trade Research Office of the Institute of Finance and Economics Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that as policy efforts are increasing, enterprises are pioneering and innovating, overcoming difficulties and striving forward, and all aspects are united and collaborating to face challenges together. The resilience of China's foreign trade and foreign investment will continue to emerge, and the development momentum will be stronger.

Improve the environment and expand the space for sustainable development

Recently, the third China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo (Chain Expo) ended in Beijing. At this Chain Expo, a total of more than 6,000 cooperation agreements were signed and cooperation intentions reached on site. On the closing day, more than 100 Chinese and foreign companies and institutions including Honeywell, GE Medical, Siemens, Corning signed the exhibition intention of the Fourth Chain Expo and obtained the next "entry ticket" in advance.

The continuous expansion of the "circle of friends" and stronger and more "linking" at the Chain Expo is not only derived from China's continuously optimized business environment, but also from the dividends and opportunities released by China's open development.

"Optimize the export tax rebate policy", "Promote the continuous optimization of the market competition order", "Standard local investment promotion behavior", "Adhere to the 'two unshakable' and stimulate the vitality of all types of business entities"... The meeting made relevant arrangements for deepening reform and optimizing the environment.

At present, the items of my country's negative list for foreign investment access have been continuously reduced, all access restrictions in the manufacturing sector have been "cleared", and pilot projects for opening up in the service sector such as value-added telecommunications and biotechnology have been carried out in an orderly manner; the Private Economy Promotion Law is introduced to focus on solving the problem of arrears of corporate accounts... A series of measures to optimize the business environment have effectively stimulated the vitality of various business entities.

Data shows that in the first half of this year, more than 30,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, an increase of 11.7% year-on-year; my country's foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance exceeded 600,000 for the first time in the same period, of which 547,000 private enterprises were established, with import and export increasing by 7.3%, accounting for nearly 60% of the total import and export value.

Optimizing the business environment is only in progress and not in completion. Zhang Yu said that with the implementation and effectiveness of various measures in 2025, a China committed to achieving high-quality development and firm open cooperation will surely inject more confidence and impetus into the turbulent world and create more development opportunities for all countries that embrace cooperation.

Build a platform and accelerate the painting of new pictures

On December 18, the Hainan Free Trade Port, exploring the world's highest level of opening-up, will officially launch the island-wide closure operation.

The "zero tariff" policy is more preferential, trade management measures are more relaxed, pass measures are more convenient, and regulatory models are more efficient and accurate... A series of policy measures for closing the customs operation demonstrates my country's firm determination to promote high-level opening up.

Opening up promotes reform and development, and the platform for opening up to the outside world plays an important role. The meeting emphasized the need to "build open platforms such as free trade pilot zones at a high level."

Since 2013, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have successively deployed the establishment of 22 free trade pilot zones, covering east, west, south, north and middle. Up to now, a total of 379 institutional innovation achievements of free trade pilot zones have been replicated and promoted at the national level, forming a good situation of sharing reform dividends and universal openness results.

From free trade pilot zones to free trade ports, from major exhibitions to jointly build the "Belt and Road" initiative, multi-level open platforms empower each other, which is promoting the comprehensive upgrade of my country's system from opening up of commodity factors flow to opening up of institutional types such as rules, regulations, management, and standards.

"Only by opening the door can we share a large market and new opportunities." Chi Fulin, director of the China (Hainan) Research Institute of Reform and Development, said that building platforms such as the free trade pilot zone is a practical way to unswervingly do your own business and promote institutional opening up, providing strong support for the construction of a new development pattern, and injecting strong momentum into world economic growth.