Foreign firms ride strong growth arc

China is prioritizing the expansion of market access, particularly in services sectors such as telecommunications, medical services, education, and culture, on a pilot basis.

Commerce Minister Wang said China will continue to further slash the negative list — the document specifying sectors where foreign investment is restricted or prohibited.

Concurrently, China will implement the new version of the encouraged industry catalog, which offers preferential policies for foreign investment in sectors aligned with China's development priorities, including advanced manufacturing, modern services, and green technologies, Wang added.

"We will translate lists of operational challenges and policy recommendations collected from foreign enterprises into actionable service commitments, so that they are willing to come to China, able to stay, and positioned to thrive," Wang said.

To make the Chinese market truly shared by all, experts said the key is whether China can leverage higher-level opening-up to build competitive advantages, support the upgrading of demand with higher-quality supply, and enhance market transparency through higher-standard governance.

This means continuously improving the business environment, strengthening the protection of property rights, and refining rules in emerging areas such as cross-border data flow and digital trade, said Cui Fan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Higher-level institutional opening-up through expanding market access and the scope of national treatment, promoting broader alignment with high-standard international trade rules, and safeguarding the stability of industrial and supply chains through multilateral and bilateral channels are also required, Cui added.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn