(Observation of the two sessions) Looking at the new trend of China's opening policy from the "change of the word" in the draft planning outline

  China News Service, Beijing, March 7th, title: Looking at the new trend of China's opening policy from the "change of the word" in the draft planning outline

  China News Agency reporter Li Xiaoyu

  As a programmatic document that guides China’s development in all aspects for a period of time in the future, every word in the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the draft outline of 2035 long-term goals that are being submitted to the National People’s Congress for review is undoubtedly the result of repeated consideration and reflection. The latest judgments and decisions made by the senior management on related issues.

  Compared with previous official policy documents, some of the expressions in the draft plan for opening up have been fine-tuned, and the meaning behind the "change of the word" is far-reaching.

Foreign investment services from "optimization" to "full optimization"

  Different from the previous expressions of "optimizing" and "strengthening" foreign investment services, the newly announced draft clearly requires "comprehensive optimization" of foreign investment services and strengthening the promotion and protection of foreign investment.

Data map: Nansha Port Area, Guangzhou Port.

Photo courtesy of Guangzhou Port Group issued by China News Service

  Foreign capital not only contributes a large amount of tax revenue and employment to China, but also plays an important role in promoting China's technological progress and economic transformation and upgrading.

Whether it is to promote high-quality economic development or to build a new development pattern, greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital are imperative.

Comprehensively optimizing foreign investment services will help China further enhance its attractiveness to investors and take the initiative in the competition for international investment.

  Comprehensive optimization means that China will create a more stable, transparent and predictable environment for foreign investment in the future. The entire process of foreign investment in China will be more concise and efficient, and legal rights and interests will be better protected.

From "steady" to "stable and cautious" to promote the internationalization of the RMB

  The internationalization of the renminbi has been advancing in China for many years.

However, in the draft plan, the advancing strategy has changed from "steady" in the "13th Five-Year Plan" to "stable and cautious."

  This adjustment is due to the situation.

Lin Nan, deputy director of the International Finance and International Economics Research Office of the Institute of Finance of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that with the increasing external uncertainty, increasing risks, and the increasing degree of China's integration into the world economy, opportunities and challenges for the internationalization of the RMB coexist.

Therefore, while promoting the internationalization of the renminbi and expanding financial opening, it is necessary to prevent risks and improve the macro-prudential management system.

  At the same time, the draft also mentions building a regulatory and risk prevention and control system that matches a higher level of openness.

This shows that at the time when the world's great changes are accelerating, China's opening up will pay more attention to risk prevention and control, not seeking fast but must be stable.

From the free trade zone strategy to the free trade zone "upgrade" strategy

  According to the draft, in the future, China will implement a free trade zone promotion strategy and build a global high-standard free trade zone network.

Compared with the previous official statement of "accelerating the implementation of the free trade zone strategy", the term "enhancement" is eye-catching.

  At present, most of the free trade agreements signed with China are developing countries and emerging economies. Among them, China has not many major trading partners and not many developed economies with large market capacity.

"This restricts the free trade zone's boosting role in China's foreign trade." said Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of China.

  Analysts believe that with major developed economies such as the United States, Europe, Japan and other major developed economies reaching high-level free trade agreements, China’s free trade zone construction is currently facing a situation of retreat if it does not advance, and “slow progress” is also a retreat. Implementation of the free trade zone upgrade The strategy brooks no delay.

  From the draft point of view, the "improvement" of the free trade area is mainly reflected in two aspects: optimizing the layout, including promoting the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), accelerating the negotiation process of the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and steadily advancing the Asia-Pacific Free Trade District construction; improve the level of construction, such as actively considering joining the "Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" (CPTPP), and promoting the signing of more high-standard free trade agreements and regional trade agreements.

  As Li Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations of Renmin University of China, said, through the implementation of the free trade zone promotion strategy, China can not only upgrade its opening capacity, but also enhance its ability to participate in the construction of the international trade system.

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