Actively strive to stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment

In the first quarter of this year, the total import and export value of my country’s trade in goods increased by 10.7% year-on-year, and the actual use of foreign capital increased by 25.6% year-on-year. Both foreign trade and foreign investment achieved a “stable start” with double-digit growth. At the same time, it should be noted that, at present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the Ukraine crisis have led to increased risks and challenges. Affected by multiple internal and external factors, the pressure on my country 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 emphasized that “the epidemic must be prevented, the economy must be stabilized, and development must be safe.” At the same time, it was pointed out that “it is necessary to adhere to the expansion of high-level opening up and actively respond to the convenience of foreign companies to do business in China. and other demands to stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment.” The national teleconference on promoting the stable development of foreign trade and foreign investment held on May 9 proposed that it is necessary to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, and actively strive to stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment.

Open development is the only way for a country to prosper and develop. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has taken the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” as a guide, promoted the construction of a new open economy system to a new level, and integrated into the world economy with a more open mind and a more confident pace, and the country’s economic strength has continued to leapfrog. new level. In 2021, my country’s total economic volume will be close to 77% of that of the United States, accounting for more than 18% of the world economy. At present, my country has formed a new pattern in which the manufacturing industry is basically open, and the agricultural service industry is steadily and continuously opened, providing a broader development space for foreign trade and foreign-invested enterprises. Under the conditions of the new era, to actively strive to stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment, it is necessary to accurately grasp the dialectics of opening-up development and economic security, strengthen and improve the service guarantee mechanism for foreign trade and foreign investment, and continuously optimize the development environment for foreign trade and foreign investment in my country.

Development and security are two wings of one body and two wheels of driving. Open development and economic security are mutually conditional and mutually supportive, and there is a close and complex dialectical relationship. On the one hand, opening to the outside world and economic development are the material basis and fundamental guarantee for economic security. Opening brings progress, while closing will inevitably lag behind. In the 21st century of globalization, it is impossible for closed countries to achieve long-term economic development, and economic development lags behind for a long time, and the ability to resist shocks will inevitably be low. This is the biggest insecurity. On the other hand, economic security is a necessary prerequisite for opening to the outside world and economic development. Opening to the outside world must be properly grasped, and it must be matched with the country’s economic security conditions and shock resistance. Lack of conditions and reckless opening up ahead of time will not only fail to bring about stable economic development, but may also jeopardize and drag down economic development.

First of all, it is necessary to avoid generalization of economic security, and implement a more proactive strategy of opening up 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 blockages and difficulties, 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 foreign trade industry chain and supply chain. In the medium and long term, we must focus on three tasks: first, to further promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, to encourage the development of products of the same line, the same standard and the same quality, and to promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade; second, to formulate a national cross-border version in due course. Negative list for trade in services, expand and strengthen export bases such as digital services and specialty services, and cultivate new growth points for trade in services; third, actively promote accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement to accelerate Build a global network of high-standard free trade areas.

To do a good job in stabilizing foreign investment, the top priority is to strengthen and improve the foreign trade and foreign investment coordination mechanism, actively respond to the new demands of foreign-funded enterprises, and coordinate and solve them in a timely manner, so as to help them achieve stable and orderly operations and effectively stabilize existing foreign-funded enterprises. In the medium and long term, we should focus on two tasks: first, further reduce the negative list for foreign investment access, accelerate the promotion of institutional opening, and promote fair competition between domestic and foreign market players. The second is to connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules, coordinate and promote the construction of various open platforms such as the Free Trade Pilot Zone, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Inland Open Economic Pilot Zone, and create a new highland for opening up with a better business environment. The environment attracts more international capital to invest in my country.

Second, it is necessary to prevent the virtualization of economic security, build a security guarantee system, and maintain economic security in the course of open development. The first is to improve the national security review system for foreign investment by fully implementing the fair competition review system, adjusting and optimizing the scope of foreign investment security review, etc. The second is to improve relevant laws and regulations, strengthen anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition in the digital economy, effectively prevent risks, and maintain fair market competition. The third is to prudently ease market access for foreign capital in specific industries, and continue to retain foreign investment access restrictions for sensitive areas involving national security.

If you do not reject the flow of people, you will be the river and the sea. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the opening to the outside world has promoted my country’s economic development and created the “China Miracle” that has attracted worldwide attention. In the face of the current complex situation, we must firmly build a new higher-level open economic system, continue to deepen the opening up of the liquidity of commodities and factors, stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment, and continue to promote the recovery of the world economy and build an open world economy. make an important contribution to China.

By Shirley Fu