Nation pursues wider opening of doors

China will continue to expand macroeconomic policy space, actively promote high-standard opening-up and transform its vast market into global opportunities, senior officials said on Friday.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), the NDRC will adhere to the deployment outlined in the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development.

"We will strengthen coordination, regulate government actions and prevent inappropriate interventions," Zheng said at a press conference on the guiding principles from the just-concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. "Meanwhile, we will give full play to market mechanisms, make flexible and law-based adjustments, and intervene promptly where market failures occur."

Zheng emphasized that China will actively expand macroeconomic policy space by enhancing the efficient coordination of key elements such as human resources, logistics, capital and information to effectively address various risks and challenges. This approach, he said, will lay a solid foundation for China's high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said that China will fully leverage the advantages of its massive domestic market, making it a prime testing ground for global innovation and turning the vast market into a shared opportunity for the world. "We will lower market entry barriers for foreign investment in accordance with the principle of 'sooner rather than later, faster rather than slower'," Wang said.

He further elaborated that the services sector will be a key focus in the next round of openness, with plans to expand pilot programs in areas such as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals.

"As a responsible major country, China has consistently opposed decoupling and has firmly upheld the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains," Wang added.

Growth potential

Looking ahead, Zheng, from the NDRC, expressed confidence in the country's growth potential. "It is preliminarily estimated that around 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of new market space will be added in the next five years," he said. "This will unleash strong development momentum and bring tangible benefits to people's livelihoods."

Tao Qizhi, a professor at the Institute of Chinese Financial Studies at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, said that the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held from Monday to Thursday in Beijing, emphasized China's global openness by enhancing industrial competitiveness and expanding international cooperation.

Meanwhile, Tao said that the 8th China International Import Expo, set to take place in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10, reaffirms China's commitment to opening its market wider to the world.

He said China will continue to deepen reforms and broaden its opening-up efforts, ensuring high-quality economic growth and sustainable development.

Xie Laihui, executive director of the Division of Belt and Road Studies at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the fourth plenum clearly conveyed the country's political determination to seize development opportunities through self-driven opening-up, while also creating more development opportunities for the world.