Plenum doubles down on opening-up to deepen engagement with the world

A major task on the agenda of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing this week is to discuss the draft proposals for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for national economic and social development. High-standard opening-up in the next five years is a key part of the new plan and how it will be carried out is one of the reasons why the session is being closely followed by the world.

Openness remains China's defining strength and a key driver of Chinese modernization. Amid the rise of protectionism and unilateralism, high-standard opening-up is not merely about expanding trade or investment; it is about optimizing China's system to further integrate its economy into the world system. The meeting will provide strategic guidance for advancing the transition of China's opening-up from the traditional "factor flow" model to a new stage of institutional opening-up based on rules, regulations, management and standards. This transformation marks China's determination to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules and to accelerate the improvement of its institutional mechanisms.

At a time when the global economy faces headwinds from trade fragmentation and the weaponization of tariffs and sanctions, China's firm commitment to opening its doors wider is a vote of confidence for multilateral cooperation.

A key move will be to continue to upgrade the country's pilot free trade zones. In recent years, the FTZs and the Hainan Free Trade Port have played a pioneering role in stress-testing institutional reforms in areas such as cross-border data flow, intellectual property rights protection, financial liberalization and green trade. The plan will look to build these into high-standard platforms that can generate replicable experiences for the rest of the country — new highlands of reform that radiate benefits both domestically and internationally.

China's opening-up will continue to be both a driver of domestic growth and a public good for the world economy. For China, deepening openness promotes industrial upgrading, stimulates innovation and enhances productivity. Its openness injects certainty into the world economy, stability into the global supply chains and vitality into international efforts to combat climate change.

China's contribution to global growth has remained around 30 percent in recent years — a figure that speaks of its indispensable role in the global economy. China's commitment to keeping its market open and sharing development opportunities has continually provided certainty, stability and predictability in turbulent times.

Moreover, China's Belt and Road Initiative has turned openness into an engine for shared development. By combining "hard connectivity", in the form of infrastructure and industries, with "soft connectivity", in the form of rules and standards, and by strengthening people-to-people ties, the initiative has not only brought tangible benefits to the participants but also promoted the openness of the world system.

Still, the path ahead will not be without challenges. External uncertainties are mounting as trade barriers rise and global economic rules are being reshaped around emerging domains such as artificial intelligence and the green transition. In this environment, deepening institutional opening-up is both a proactive adaptation and a strategic necessity. To that end, China will continue to enhance its risk prevention and regulatory capabilities, strike a balance between openness and security and ensure that reform and opening-up proceed steadily in a coordinated manner.

Ultimately, high-standard opening-up is a vital component of China's broader modernization drive. It will help China harness the forces of innovation and global cooperation to advance high-quality development at home while contributing to a fairer, more inclusive world economy. By turning openness into a pathway for mutual benefit, China is demonstrating that its modernization is also about engaging with the world in deeper, more rules-based and mutually beneficial ways.

The more some economies are turning inward and erecting walls, the more China is resolved to increase its openness and share opportunities. This stands as an affirmation of its vision — that the future of economic globalization must be open, balanced and beneficial to all. This vision will guide China's actions through the next five years and beyond, contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.