The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) listed the main objectives and tasks of building a modern socialist country in all respects for the next five years: “making major progress in creating a new pattern of development and building a modernized economy, making new strides in reform and opening up.” This important statement not only puts forward the goal of building China’s modernized economy, but also points out one of the important means to achieve this goal: deepening reform and opening up, and building a new pattern of high-level opening up. From the perspective of the relationship between the construction of a modernized economy and high-level opening up, this article intends to briefly explain the path choice for China’s high-level opening up.

Highlighting epochal characteristics

Building a modernized economy must conform to the requirements of the times. The modernized economy must be characterized by high-quality development based on independent innovation, the in-depth development of an open economy, and the development model of resource conservation, environmental friendliness, and harmony between man and nature.

Promoting an open economy is the inevitable requirement of building a modernized economy in the era of economic globalization, and it is also the characteristic of a modernized economy. With the rapid development of economic globalization, any economy with a modernized economic system must be open. Only by optimizing the allocation of resources globally and making full use of both domestic and international resources and markets can we achieve high-quality development. This not only aligns with the basic principles of open economics, but has also been proven by economic development practices of countries around the world, including China.

Currently, China has built an essentially open economic system after more than 40 years of reform and opening up, especially the comprehensive opening up marked by its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the face of major changes in economic globalization and the reconstruction of international economic and trade rules, China’s promotion of an open economy also coincides with a rare opportunity, enabling us to introduce and implement new concepts and new propositions for economic globalization that are open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all in the process of actively participating in the reconstruction of the global economic and trade order. While accelerating the construction of China’s modernized economy, it also provides Chinese input for fostering an open world economy.

New trends in opening up

At present, there are several obvious trends in economic globalization and the evolution of international economic and trade rules which form the global background for China’s promotion of high-level opening up.

First, the direction, mechanism and motivation for the new round of economic globalization are still uncertain, and the new wave may be slow to arrive. This suggests that our implementation of high-level opening up will face a situation where forces such as economic globalization and anti-globalization are intertwined.

Second, China is promoting high-level opening up within the context of stagnant multilateral trading system reform and a lack of consensus on international economic and trade rules. This not only brings us head on with a complex situation, but also gives our opening up policies a certain room for maneuvering.

Third, high-standard Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have become new forms in the evolution of international economic and trade rules and deepening economic integration, and the level and standards for opening up have constantly improved. Therefore, opening up in the construction of China’s modernized economy is high-standard, institutional and rule-based in this context.

Fourth, the general trends of economic globalization and opening up have remain unchanged, and the global industrial, supply, and value chains have not changed significantly.

Going forward

To promote the construction of a modernized economy through high-level opening up, the trends of economic globalization and the evolution of international economic and trade rules should be complied with, important opportunities brought about by the profound changes unseen in a century leveraged, and core questions of what, how, and to whom we should open well answered.

Firstly, China’s promotion of high-level opening up should be globally oriented, but different strategies should be adopted. Under the current situation, China’s opening up should be comprehensive and pragmatic.

Secondly, open markets, open systems, open rules and open standards are the inevitable requirements for building a modernized economy and are also the key areas of China’s high-level opening up.

Finally, it is advised that various bilateral, multilateral, and regional trade and investment agreements serve as the main forms of opening up, while actively promoting the WTO reform and the reconstruction of multilateral trading systems. China’s promotion of higher level of opening up, especially institutional opening up, will also help to promote the WTO reform and contribute to building an open world economy to a certain extent.

Wang Yuesheng is a professor from the School of Economics at Peking University.