According to Xinhua News Agency, Sun Meijun, Director of the General Administration of Customs, introduced at the series of thematic press conferences on "Complete the 14th Five-Year Plan with High Quality" held by the State Information Office on August 25 that since the 14th Five-Year Plan, the customs have signed 519 cooperation documents to the outside world. my country has become the top three trading partners of 157 countries and regions around the world. The new advantages of international win-win cooperation are more prominent.

On August 19, the freighter loaded and unloaded containers in Qianwan Port, Qingdao Port, Shandong Port (drone photos). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng

Trade is an important link connecting the interests of various countries and an important engine to drive economic growth. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has followed the trend of economic globalization, upgraded trade in goods, innovated trade in services, developed digital trade, and took digital greening as the direction, further enhanced the international division of labor status, moved towards the middle and high end of the global value chain, and promoted the construction of a trade power to a new level. Data shows that in 2024, my country and countries jointly built the "Belt and Road" will have 22 trillion yuan, accounting for more than half of my country's imports and exports, and the average annual growth of imports and exports with emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia will be more than 10%. Today, China has a larger circle of friends, and the road to win-win is getting wider and wider. A pattern of opening up to the outside world is becoming increasingly formed in a larger scope, wider field, and deeper level, and the pace of moving towards a trade power is becoming more solid and powerful.

The circle of friends is getting bigger and bigger, which is thanks to my country's strategic determination to actively expand opening up. From continuously promoting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, to encouraging the development of new business forms and models such as cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses; from holding the Canton Fair, the CIIE, the China Trade Fair, and the Consumer Expo, to applying to join the "Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" and the "Digital Economy Partnership Agreement"... my country firmly stands on the right side of history and practices with practical actions that "China's door to opening up will not be closed, it will only open wider and wider." Faced with the "headwind" and "return waves" of the international economic environment, my country has firmly promoted the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, actively created a first-class business environment in market-oriented, law-based and internationalized areas, and continued to build the "Invest in China" brand, demonstrating its confidence and determination to deepen the promotion of high-level opening up to the outside world.

The super-large-scale Chinese market is also an important reason for the high-quality development of China's foreign trade and the increasing circle of friends. On the one hand, my country has the most complete and largest industrial system in the world, has strong production capacity and perfect supporting capabilities, and has become the main economy that has been ranked first in the world's largest manufacturing country for 15 consecutive years, and can naturally exude great charm. On the other hand, as a world's large population country, its per capita GDP exceeds US$10,000 and has more than 400 million middle-income groups. Such a super-large domestic demand market naturally contains unlimited potential. Data shows that in recent years, foreign investment returns in China have been about 9%, ranking among the top in the world. Looking at today, free trade partners are spread across five continents, and the network of free trade zones is constantly expanding and deepening, providing countries with broader opportunities for the development of the Chinese market and writing a vivid footnote to "China closely linked to the world".

my country's foreign trade circle is getting bigger and bigger, indicating that developing in openness and winning through cooperation is the correct way to develop. At present, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, with economic and non-economic factors intertwined, and the external environment facing foreign trade development has become more complex and severe. In today's world full of uncertainty, my country's economic foundation is stable, has many advantages, strong resilience and great potential, and the long-term positive support conditions and basic trends have not changed. In the first half of 2025, my country's GDP grew by 5.3% year-on-year, maintaining a steady and positive development trend. This is the greatest confidence and confidence for China to share opportunities with the world and seek common development. Research by the International Monetary Fund shows that every 1 percentage point of China's economy will increase output in other economies by an average of 0.3 percentage points. Practice will continue to prove that China is the well-deserved "anchored of stability" and "the next China or China".

Only when the world is good can China be good; only when China is good can China be better. This year's Government Work Report proposes: "Promote the signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0 version upgrade agreement, and actively promote the process of joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement." Against the backdrop of increasing global protectionism, China has always injected stability into the global economy with an open attitude and made important contributions to global economic growth. By grasping the general trends at home and abroad, coordinating the two overall situations, adhering to "doing the right thing", and promoting high-level opening up with more active and effective actions, we can stride forward towards a trade power, continue to write more wonderful stories of China and the world rushing in both directions, and contribute more Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength to the stable growth and peaceful development of the world economy.

Author: Ding Hengqing Unit: Organization Department of Baoshan Municipal Committee of Yunnan Province