Opening-up bolstering business confidence

In a world marked by a continued decline in openness and a worrying trend that threatens to stifle growth and innovation, China's commitments to opening its door even wider and sharing its massive market opportunities with foreign businesses will provide a ballast of predictability for the global economy, officials and experts said on Wednesday.

They called for all economies to abandon zero-sum thinking, strengthen global collaboration and foster a more inclusive model of opening-up to secure a shared future of stability and prosperity.

They made the remarks at a news conference on the World Openness Report 2025 and International Symposium on World Opening-Up, which was part of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum during the ongoing eighth China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

According to the report, the World Openness Index registered a marginal decline of 0.05 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, reflecting drops of 0.34 percent from 2019 and 5.39 percent from 2008, indicating that global openness remains in a contraction phase.

Europe, Central Asia and North America emerged as the only regions experiencing a contraction in openness, while emerging markets and developing economies saw their openness index rise 0.42 percent year-on-year as noted in the report.

As the world's largest developing economy, China's openness index registered a rise of 29.6 percent from 1990 to 2024, placing it among the top global performers. In 2024, the index for China grew 0.5 percent year-on-year, ranking the country as 38th among 129 economies.

Amid a weakening global consensus on openness and a continued decline in openness indices, an open market has become an increasingly coveted resource, said Ling Ji, vice-minister of commerce.

"China, the world's second-largest consumer market, boasts a population of 1.4 billion including over 500 million middle-income individuals, which translates into immense market potential and strong growth prospects," Ling said. "We are committed to transforming China's vast market into shared opportunities for the world."

Data from the ministry show that the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region collectively accounted for about 13.3 percent of global goods imports last year, solidifying their position as the world's second-largest import market.

"Opening-up is not a phrase, it's the only path to promote common development, and cooperation is the fundamental guarantee for achieving the shared goal," said Shu Luomei, director of the division of investment and technology promotion offices and institutional partnerships, United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

"We look forward to continuously deepening our partnerships between UNIDO and China, sharing China's best practices on green and digital development, and bringing more innovative solutions to promote global opening-up and cooperation," Shu added.

Bill Winters, group chief executive of Standard Chartered, said that amid a still complex and uncertain global trade outlook, China's sustained opening-up and stable economic growth are bolstering confidence for international investment and global collaboration.

"Standard Chartered regards China as one of its most pivotal strategic markets, and we will continue to bring global opportunities to China and help Chinese companies expand globally," Winters said.