Actively strive to stabilize the basic market of foreign trade and foreign investment

In the first quarter of this year, the total import and export value of China's goods trade increased by 10.7% year-on-year, the actual use of foreign capital increased by 25.6% year-on-year, and both foreign trade and foreign capital achieved a "stable start" with double-digit growth. At the same time, it should be noted that at present, the COVID-19 and the crisis in Ukraine have led to an increase in risks and challenges. Affected by multiple internal and external factors, the pressure on China to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment has increased significantly. In view of this, the recent meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee stressed that "the epidemic should be prevented, the economy should be stable and development should be safe". At the same time, it pointed out that "we should adhere to expanding high-level opening to the outside world, actively respond to the demands of foreign-funded enterprises for convenience in doing business in China, and stabilize the foundation of foreign trade and foreign investment".  

Opening up and development is the only way for national prosperity and development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, guided by the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", China has promoted the construction of a new system of open economy to a new level, integrated into the world economy with a more open mind and a more confident pace, and the country's economic strength has constantly risen to a new level. In 2021, China's total economy has been close to 77% of the United States, accounting for more than 18% of the world economy. At present, China has formed a new pattern of basically opening up the manufacturing industry and steadily and continuously opening up the agricultural service industry, which provides a broader development space for foreign-funded enterprises. In the new era, to actively strive to stabilize the basic market of foreign trade and foreign investment, we need to accurately grasp the dialectics of opening-up development and economic security, strengthen and improve the service guarantee mechanism of foreign trade and foreign investment, and constantly optimize the development environment of foreign trade and foreign investment in China.

Development and security are two wings and two wheels driven by one. There is a close and complex dialectical relationship between openness and development and economic security. On the one hand, opening up and economic development are the material basis and fundamental guarantee of economic security. Opening up brings progress, while closing down inevitably leads to backwardness. In the 21st century of globalization, it is impossible for closed countries to obtain long-term economic development, and economic development lags behind for a long time, and their ability to resist impact is bound to be low. This is the greatest insecurity. On the other hand, economic security is a necessary prerequisite for opening to the outside world and economic development. The degree of opening to the outside world should be well controlled and matched with the country's economic security conditions and impact resistance. Opening up ahead of time without conditions and regardless of consequences is not only impossible to bring stable economic development, but also likely to endanger and drag down economic development.
First of all, we should avoid the generalization of economic security and implement a more proactive opening-up strategy on the premise of ensuring national economic security. To do a good job in stabilizing foreign trade, the top priority is to break through the difficulties of blocking points, ensure the stability of production and circulation in the field of foreign trade, focus on ensuring the efficient and smooth transportation of foreign trade goods, and make every effort to ensure the integrity and stability of the supply chain of the foreign trade industry chain. In the medium and long term, we should focus on three tasks: first, further promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, encourage the development of products of the same line, the same standard and the same quality, and promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade; Second, formulate a national negative list of cross-border service trade in due time, expand and strengthen export bases such as digital services and characteristic services, and cultivate new growth points of service trade; Third, actively promote the accession to the digital economy partnership agreement and the comprehensive and progressive trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, and accelerate the construction of a global high standard free trade area network.
To do a good job in stabilizing foreign investment, the top priority is to strengthen and improve the coordination mechanism of foreign trade and foreign investment, actively respond to the new demands reflected by foreign-funded enterprises, coordinate and solve them in time, help them realize stable and orderly operation and effectively stabilize the existing foreign-funded enterprises. In the medium and long term, we should focus on two tasks: first, further reduce the negative list of foreign capital access, accelerate institutional opening-up, and promote fair competition among domestic and foreign market players. Second, connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules, comprehensively promote the construction of various open platforms such as the pilot Free Trade Zone, Hainan free trade port and inland open economic pilot zone, create a new highland of opening to the outside world with a better business environment, and attract more international capital to invest and start business in China with a high-quality market environment.
Secondly, we should prevent the virtualization of economic security, build a security system, and maintain economic security in the process of opening up and development. First, improve the national security review system for foreign investment by comprehensively implementing the fair competition review system and adjusting and optimizing the scope of foreign investment security review. Second, improve the system of relevant laws and regulations, strengthen the anti-monopoly and anti unfair competition in the field of digital economy, effectively prevent risks and maintain fair competition in the market. Third, it is prudent to relax foreign capital market access in specific industries and continue to retain foreign capital access restrictions in sensitive areas related to national security.
If you don't refuse the crowd, you will be a river and a sea. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, opening to the outside world has promoted China's economic development and created a remarkable "Chinese miracle". In the face of the current complex situation, we should firmly build a new open economic system at a higher level, continue to deepen the opening of commodity and factor liquidity, stabilize the basic situation of foreign trade and foreign investment, and continue to make China's important contribution to promoting the recovery of the world economy and building an open world economy.