H.E. Hu Zhangliang Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Sierra Leone
The 5th plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposes that China is to comprehensively increase its opening-up level in the next 5 to 15 years and strive for new progress in win-win cooperation with other countries.
- Promote facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment.
In the first three quarters of 2020, the total value of China’s imports and exports of goods reached 23.12 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year. That makes China’s status as a major trading country further consolidated.
The number of China’s pilot free trade zones has increased from 18 to 21. At the national level, the pilot free trade zones have replicated and promoted a total of 260 institutional innovations, and that number at the provincial level is 1,151. What’s more, China has issued an overall plan for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, which will be a new highland for China’s further opening up in the years to come.
In addition, China will continue to provide important exhibition platforms especially the China International Import Expo (CIIE) launched in 2018. In the previous two CIIEs, the turnover of intentions exceeded US$120 billion. At the just-concluded third CIIE, companies from all over the world participated actively, and the exhibition area was expanded by nearly 30,000 square meters. After three years of development, the CIIE now becomes an international public product.
In terms of investment, China has been taking active measures to improve the investment environment so as to attract more foreign investment. In the first three quarters of 2020, China’s actual use of foreign investment reached 718.81 billion yuan, up 5.2% year on year. In February, H.E. Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the need to expand the opening up of financial and other service industries. Only one month later, five foreign-funded financial institutions from the United States, South Korea and other countries held an online opening ceremony in Shanghai, and on April 1, the foreign equity ratio limit for securities firms was lifted.
- Promote high quality development of the Belt &Road Cooperation.
Since H.E. President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt & Road initiative in 2013, China’s total trade in goods with countries along the Belt and Road has exceeded 7.8 trillion US dollars, and China’s direct investment in these countries has exceeded 110 billion US dollars. China has signed 200 cooperation documents with 138 countries and 30 international organizations and carried out over 2,000 cooperation projects.
Take the China-Europe train for example, since the implementation of the new operation plan on October 11, 2020, the number of China-Europe train lines has increased from 67 to 73. Now at the Alashankou railway port in Xinjiang alone, there are 22 China-Europe freight trains leaving there and reaching 13 countries.
In the future, China will adhere to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and push forward the Belt & Road Initiative with more concrete results.
3.Actively participate in the reform of the global economic governance system.
Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2017, China has been working more closely with the international community to promote the development of the international political and economic order toward a more just and reasonable direction.
In the future, China will continue to work with the G20 and other countries to strengthen international economic cooperation and strive for a more just and equitable global economic governance system. China will continue to uphold the multilateral trading system, and actively participate in the reform of the World Trade Organization. China will actively participate in multilateral, bilateral, and regional investment and trade cooperation mechanisms, promote the formulation of economic governance rules in emerging areas and enhance its capacity to participate in international financial governance.
China will implement the free trade zone promotion strategy and work together with other countries to build a global network of high-standard free trade zones. Very recently, on Nov.15, 2020, the ten ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand formally signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which symbolizes the establishment of the world’s largest free trade zone.
4.Strengthening the Leadership Role of the Communist
Party of China in Steering China’s Opening-up and Reform
Since its founding 100 years ago, CPC has upheld its founding mission to pursue happiness for the Chinese people and sought national rejuvenation. The CPC leadership is the key to China’s success in running its affairs. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period and beyond, China will have to solve many difficult problems and face a series of risks and challenges. Only by strengthening the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee can the Party provide overall leadership and coordinate the efforts of all involved to create strong synergy and promote economic and social development.
H.E. Xi Jinping, CPC General Secretary and Chinese President, points out, “China will not close its door to the outside world. It will only open wider.” In the future, China will persist in implementing wider, broader and deeper opening up to promote international cooperation and achieve more mutual benefits and win-win results. By 2025, China’s new systems for developing a higher-level open economy will have basically taken shape. By 2035, a new pattern of opening-up will have been formed and China’s new advantages in international economic cooperation and competition will be significantly enhanced.
On the new journey, China will join hands with other countries in the world, including Sierra Leone for common development and prosperity.
