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On October 13, 2022, the intelligent horizontal transportation robot operated at the intelligent container terminal in Section C of the northern Xinjiang port area of Tianjin Port. On the same day, the throughput of Tianjin Port's "smart zero-carbon" terminal exceeded 1 million TEUs. Photo: Xinhua
In the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping proposed that to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern and focus on promoting high-quality development, we must promote high-level opening up. At the same time, it is emphasized that it is necessary to steadily expand the opening up of rules, regulations, management, standards, and other systems.
The term "institutional-type opening-up" was not first proposed at the 20th National Congress, but it was particularly emphasized again in the report of the 20th National Congress, which shows its importance to the high-quality economic and social development of the mainland.
Although the global economy is threatened by unilateralism and conservatism, no economy can be isolated and "left alone", and economic globalization, investment liberalization and trade facilitation are still the trend of the times.
Against this background, the report of the 20th National Congress once again emphasized institutional opening-up, which not only strengthened the mainland's belief in opening up to the outside world, but also injected confidence in further accelerating the process of global economic integration.
In fact, whether it is accelerating the construction of a trade power, promoting the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road", or promoting the internationalization of the RMB in an orderly manner, it is a typical embodiment of institutional opening-up.
Therefore, institutional opening up is of profound practical significance for the mainland to deeply participate in the global industrial division of labor and cooperation, and to maintain a diversified and stable international economic pattern and economic and trade relations.
On October 13, 2022, the Yavan high-speed railway comprehensive inspection train was unveiled at Dekarur Station in Bandung, Indonesia. The arrival of high-speed multiple units and comprehensive inspection trains exported from China in Indonesia is another important milestone in the construction of Yavan high-speed railway. Photo: Xinhua
Emphasize institutional-type opening up and reflect the determination to open up to the outside world
In 2018, the Central Economic Work Conference clearly put forward institutional opening-up, requiring the promotion of all-round opening-up, adapting to the new situation, grasping new characteristics, and promoting the transformation from the opening up of commodity and factor flows to the institutional opening of rules.
In the second half of 2020, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Shenzhen and Shanghai's Pudong New Area, he once again stressed the need to accelerate the promotion of institutional opening-up. This time, it was once again made clear in the report of the 20th National Congress, which not only highlights its importance, but also reflects the mainland's determination to open up to the outside world.
Institutional opening-up requires further opening-up in trade, investment and personnel mobility, so as to bring procedures, standards and rules into line with international standards, and benchmark with relevant international rules. Institutional opening up not only refers to cross-border investment liberalization and trade facilitation, but also includes the overall institutional environment involving the cross-border flow of various factors of production.
At the same time, institutional opening-up requires benchmarking with the prevailing rules of international trade and investment, and increasing the protection of foreign investment rights and interests and intellectual property rights. This includes treating international enterprises equally and further broadening the scope and scope of outbound investment.
Since 2013, the Mainland Pilot Free Trade Zone has been expanded six times, increasing the total number to 21, continuously expanding the "test field" of reform and opening up, exploring "best practice cases" of trade and investment, and promoting the replication and promotion of various institutional innovation achievements across the country.
Institutional opening up means steadily expanding the docking and benchmarking between China and the world in terms of rules, regulations, management and standards, and further enhancing the mainland's voice in international economic and trade organizations and rules, and participating in the formulation and revision of international commercial and trade rules.
Institutional opening up requires the mainland to actively participate in international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), to participate in the formulation of global rules and the provision of global public goods, and to strengthen bilateral and multilateral trade cooperation. For example, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which came into effect this year, enables China to build the world's largest free trade area with 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Institutional opening up is also an important condition for creating a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized first-class business environment, which means that the "three modernizations" of the business environment are complementary to each other, and all serve to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other.
The optimization of the business environment needs to be promoted in both domestic and international aspects, and the marketization and rule of law of the domestic business environment should be driven through the internationalization of the business environment. Therefore, institutional opening up will inevitably promote the effective improvement of the management level of the domestic market.
On September 30, 2022, Shunde Wanhe electrical workers in Foshan, Guangdong, worked on the production line. Expecting the new demand of the European heating market, Chinese enterprises adjust the product structure and flexibly develop new products to meet the heating needs of the market. Photo: Xinhua
Expanding institutional opening-up has also boosted the development of the domestic market
In recent years, China's business environment has continued to improve its ranking among global economies, but it should also be on par with the best business environment. Institutional opening-up will help the mainland get out of the "bottleneck period" and "plateau period" of business environment optimization, continue to promote the optimization of the domestic business environment, and bring the business environment into line with international standards.
The business environment not only serves the operation and economic development of domestic enterprises, but also serves international investment and trade, so it needs to be "both internal and external". There is a two-way interaction between domestic optimization and internationalization of the business environment, so it cannot be left to the side. Otherwise, the business environment that does not consider internationalization may gradually distance itself from the development trend of the global business environment, and will accumulate due to the "solidification" and "involution" of the domestic business environment, making the cost, cost and difficulty of internationalization of the business environment in the later stage unbearable.
Institutional opening requires breaking down all kinds of tangible and intangible barriers between economies, providing institutional infrastructure for cross-border factor flows, and enabling the free flow of various factors, products and services, including capital, goods, services, talents, technology, data, etc. across borders.
Specifically, institutional opening up means further improving the convenience and efficiency of various services in foreign trade, foreign direct investment and talent residence, and facilitating the flow of cross-border talents in trade and investment.
The efficiency and convenience of foreign trade are mainly reflected in the efficiency and cost of customs clearance, and it is necessary to promote the improvement of import and export customs clearance efficiency, tax reduction and fee reduction for import and export enterprises. In recent years, the efficiency of import and export customs clearance in the mainland has been steadily improved, and the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has effectively promoted the institutional opening up of import and export trade.
The convenience and efficiency of FDI are mainly the approval procedures, costs and efficiency of enterprise start-up, that is, to facilitate the procedures for foreign investment and business development, improve the laws, regulations and policies of foreign direct investment, and deepen reforms in overseas enterprise investment, enterprise start-up, industrial land acquisition, commercial dispute resolution, etc.
Expanding institutional opening-up means further relaxing market access for foreign investment, further reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, comprehensively cleaning up and removing access restrictions on foreign investment, and achieving consistent standards for domestic and foreign investment in market access. This will undoubtedly greatly promote the quality development of the domestic market.
Institutional opening-up is two-way and reciprocal, involving both overseas enterprises to invest and trade in China, as well as domestic enterprises to invest and trade abroad. In the future, it is particularly necessary to consider how to improve the level of utilization of foreign capital, strengthen overseas investment services and management, and accelerate the construction of an international business environment to promote the high-quality economic and social development of the mainland.
Written by / Ma Liang (Researcher, National Academy of Development and Strategy, Chinese Minmin University and Professor, School of Public Administration)
Editor / He Rui
Proofreader / Liu Jun