High-Level Opening for the Benefit of Other Nations – Opinion

China has become the world’s second-largest economy thanks to its reform and opening-up policy. And the fact that the recent Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China vowed to promote “high-level opening-up” means that a wide range of new opportunities will be created for other countries, especially developing countries, including Brazil.

China has repeatedly stressed that it is committed to bringing its policies and regulations on protecting intellectual property rights, providing industrial subsidies, protecting the environment and ecology, and defending workers’ rights and interests into line with international standards.

This alignment will create a more stable and predictable platform for foreign companies that want to invest or expand their business in China. It will also create a more reliable and transparent business environment for developing countries, including Brazil, and enable companies from different countries and regions to explore new partnerships with their Chinese counterparts and leverage a regulated market in line with international standards to expand their business.

In addition, better protection of intellectual property rights will encourage high-tech companies to invest in China, giving them the confidence that their innovations will be safe.

China’s orderly opening of markets in goods, services, capital and labour has created enormous opportunities for international trade and cooperation, and the country’s decision to unilaterally open its doors to less developed countries demonstrates its commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth.

The moves will create significant opportunities for countries like Brazil, which are major exporters of goods. Agricultural products like soybeans, meat and coffee from developing countries could find a growing market in China.

Moreover, by opening up its services market, China has allowed enterprises from various sectors to explore new opportunities in the domestic market, and by coordinating its trade policies with fiscal, tax, financial and industrial policies, it has created a set of systems and policies that have boosted exports and imports, and helped develop new models and forms of trade, such as digital and green trade.

In addition, developing countries can learn from China on how to promote innovation in digital trade and use this knowledge to improve e-commerce infrastructure, as well as adopt sustainable and green trade practices to better protect the environment.

China is establishing commodity trading centers and global distribution centers to support the development of overseas logistics facilities, which means that countries have greater opportunities to work with China to build and manage logistics infrastructure that facilitates global trade. By learning from China’s experience in improving logistics, these countries can streamline their operations and reduce costs.

In addition, the establishment of international logistics centers can facilitate the export of products and sharpen China’s competitive advantage in the global market. While improving the export control structure and trade remedies system will ensure that developing country companies operating in China enjoy greater legal security and face fewer trade risks, innovative promotion of trade in services through full application of the negative list for cross-border trade in services and developing pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce will create new opportunities for companies providing services such as consulting, education and technology.

And promoting pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce could make it easier for companies from other developing countries to access China’s huge consumer market.

Creating a first-class business environment that protects the rights and interests of foreign investors in accordance with the law includes further shortening the negative list for foreign investment. More sectors have been opened to investment from developing countries, and more are exploring new investment opportunities, especially in strategic sectors such as telecommunications, the Internet, education, culture and medical services.

In particular, China is opening up its central, western and northeastern regions to the outside world, while consolidating the leading economic role of the eastern coastal region. Foreign companies can thus establish partnerships with their Chinese counterparts in less developed areas of the country.

Cooperation between Guangdong Province and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao in the Greater Persian Gulf Area provides another strategic platform for companies seeking to access the Chinese and other Asian markets.

In addition, the Belt and Road Initiative provides a platform for multilateral cooperation in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, energy and finance, which developing countries can use to create new opportunities in infrastructure and sustainable development projects. In fact, the initiative aims to improve connectivity among Belt and Road Initiative countries to promote trade and cooperation in various areas.

China’s desire to open up to high standards opens up many opportunities for other countries, including Brazil, to expand trade, invest in new fields, cooperate on development projects and strengthen economic relations between these countries and China.

In short, China’s new approach to opening up will benefit not only the Chinese economy but also partner countries like Brazil. With a more transparent and predictable business environment, expanded markets, policy integration, and innovation in trade and services, these countries can explore and maximize these opportunities to fuel their economic growth and strengthen bilateral relations with China.

Strategic cooperation between them in the areas of logistics, technology, e-commerce and green technology can bring mutual benefits in the long term, leading to a future of shared prosperity for all nations.

The author is director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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