The Era Value and Global Significance of High-Standard Opening Up

Continuously expanding opening up, raising the level of opening up, and using opening up to promote reform and development are important magic weapons for China’s continuous achievements in development. The important article “Unswervingly Advance High-Standard Opening Up” recently published by General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly answers major theoretical and practical questions concerning the significance, content, requirements, and paths of improvement for high-standard opening up in the New Era, providing an action guide for implementing opening up of a larger scope, broader domains, and deeper levels. At present, high-standard opening up is being steadily advanced and comprehensively deepened, and it is deeply integrated with the building of Chinese-path modernization. Domestically, high-standard opening up is an important pathway for China to develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, forming a positive interaction with Chinese-path modernization. Externally, high-standard opening up, as the outward extension of Chinese-path modernization, deeply aligns with the modernization aspirations of developing countries, demonstrating significant era value and global significance in stabilizing the global economy, improving global governance, and driving the process of sustainable development. For the current period and the near future, we must promote the steady progress of high-standard opening up, advance economic and trade cooperation, governance coordination, and inclusive benefits, and open up broad prospects for advancing Chinese-path modernization and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

不断扩大对外开放、提高对外开放水平，以开放促改革、促发展，是我国发展不断取得新成就的重要法宝。习近平总书记日前发表的《坚定不移推进高水平对外开放》重要文章，深刻回答了新时代高水平对外开放的意义、内涵、要求、完善路径等重大理论和实践问题，为实施更大范围、更宽领域、更深层次的对外开放提供了行动指南。当前，高水平对外开放持续推进、全面深化，并与中国式现代化建设深度整合。对内而言，高水平对外开放是中国因地制宜发展新质生产力的重要路径，与中国式现代化形成良性互动；对外来看，高水平对外开放作为中国式现代化的外向延展，深度契合发展中国家的现代化诉求，在稳定全球经济、完善全球治理、驱动可持续发展进程等方面彰显重要时代价值与世界意义。当前和今后一个时期，要推动高水平对外开放稳步前行，促进经贸合作、治理协同、普惠包容，为推进中国式现代化、构建人类命运共同体开辟广阔前景。

1. Promoting the co-construction of an innovative and inclusive open world economy through the mutual reinforcement of domestic and international dual circulations

1.以国内国际双循环相互促进推动共建创新包容的开放型世界经济

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “China adheres to true multilateralism, promotes an inclusive and beneficial economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy.” As the economy that contributes the most to the world economy, China provides key impetus and broad prospects for the construction of an open world economy.

习近平总书记指出：“中国坚持真正的多边主义，推动普惠包容的经济全球化，积极参与全球经济治理，致力于建设开放型世界经济。”中国作为对世界经济贡献最大的经济体，为开放型世界经济的构建提供了关键动力和广阔前景。

To jointly build an innovative and inclusive open world economy, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual circulations mutually reinforcing. First, the new development pattern provides solid support for an open world economy. The new development pattern is both an inherent requirement for reconciling the contradiction between domestic productive forces and relations of production and a key pathway for coordinating economic and trade relations between China and other countries. Domestically, relying on the world’s most complete industrial system and the advantages of a super-large market, it releases domestic demand potential, optimizes the supply structure, and smoothens the domestic economic circulation. Externally, relying on the innovation vitality and scale effect of the domestic market, it integrates into the global division-of-labor cooperation network at a higher quality, opposes protectionism and unilateralism, and solidifies the foundation for an open world economy. Second, an open world economy builds a platform for the new development pattern. The two deeply align, by reducing transaction costs and trade barriers between regions, promoting the free flow and optimal allocation of production factors over a broader scope. This not only injects new impetus into the economic development of cooperating countries but also prompts the reintegration and extension of global industrial and supply chains, forming a closer and more diversified international economic cooperation network. Finally, the new development pattern and the open world economy jointly create far-reaching impacts. Close economic and trade exchanges and interest linkages provide a common interest foundation for the negotiation of international rules and the operation of multilateral mechanisms, ensuring the steady advancement of the construction of a new system for an open economy. The cross-border flows of goods, capital, technology, and talent become bridges for contact, understanding, and cooperation among people of different cultural backgrounds, providing broad and direct channels for cultural dissemination, ideological exchange, and cooperation in science, education, and culture, nourishing the exchange vitality of an open civilization. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s average annual contribution to world economic growth remained at around 30%, which not only demonstrates the effectiveness of constructing the new development pattern but also confirms the vigorous vitality of an open world economy.

共建创新包容的开放型世界经济，必须加快构建以国内大循环为主体、国内国际双循环相互促进的新发展格局。首先，新发展格局为开放型世界经济构筑坚实支撑。新发展格局既是调和国内生产力与生产关系矛盾的内在要求，也是协调我国与他国经贸关系的关键路径。对内，依托全球最完整的工业体系与超大规模市场优势，释放内需潜力、优化供给结构、畅通国内经济循环。对外，依托国内市场的创新活力与规模效应，更高质量融入全球分工合作网络，反对保护主义与单边主义，为开放型世界经济夯实基础。其次，开放型世界经济为构建新发展格局搭建平台。二者深度契合，通过降低区域间的交易成本和贸易壁垒，推动生产要素在更广阔的范围内自由流动与优化配置。这不仅为合作国家的经济发展注入新动力，也促使全球产业链和供应链得以重新整合与延伸，形成更为紧密且多元的国际经济合作网络。最后，新发展格局与开放型经济共塑影响深远。密切的经贸往来和利益纽带为国际规则协商、多边机制运作提供了共同利益基础，保障开放型经济新体制建设稳步推进。商品流、资金流、技术流、人才流等的跨境流动，成为不同文化背景人群接触、理解与合作的桥梁，为文化传播、思想碰撞及科教合作提供广泛直接的渠道，滋养开放文明的交流活力。“十四五”期间，我国对世界经济增长年均贡献率保持在30%左右，既彰显了构建新发展格局的成效，也印证了开放型世界经济的蓬勃生命力。

Further promoting high-standard opening up requires coordinated efforts in key areas of high-quality development. First, consolidate the foundation of domestic circulation to strengthen and empower the open economy. This can be done by expanding the middle-income group and optimizing the income distribution structure to activate consumption momentum, accelerating the construction of a unified national market, resolutely breaking down local protection and market segmentation barriers, strengthening technological innovation to lead industrial upgrading, and improving the adaptability of the supply system to domestic demand, thereby consolidating the autonomous foundation of economic development. Second, integrate into the global division of labor at a high quality to set standards and expand boundaries for the open economy. Efforts should be made to build and develop free trade pilot zones and free trade ports well, carry out pilot reforms of a larger scope and deeper level, create new benchmarks for opening up, and firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system. Third, expand the space for mutually beneficial cooperation to gather momentum and accumulate strength for the open economy. It is necessary to optimize the layout of regional economic and trade cooperation, implement existing free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) at a high quality, deepen pragmatic cooperation with Global South countries in areas such as infrastructure connectivity, production capacity cooperation, and market alignment, promote the sharing of development opportunities, oppose all forms of protectionism, and jointly maintain the openness, stability, security, and smoothness of global industrial and supply chains. Fourth, optimize the environment for cross-border factor flows to smooth the channels of the open economy. Continuously improve a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investment to enhance attractiveness, facilitate the international movement of personnel, promote the efficient and convenient flow of innovation factors such as knowledge, technology, and data, and enhance the development level of the service trade.

进一步推进高水平对外开放，需聚焦高质量发展关键领域协同发力。第一，筑牢国内大循环根基，为开放型经济固本赋能。可通过扩大中等收入群体和优化收入分配结构等手段激活消费动能，加快建设全国统一大市场，坚决破除地方保护和市场分割壁垒，强化科技创新引领产业升级，提升供给体系对国内需求的适配性，从而巩固经济发展的自主性基础。第二，高质量融入全球分工，为开放型经济立标拓界。要建设好、发展好自由贸易试验区和自由贸易港，开展更大范围、更深层次的先行先试，打造对外开放新标杆，并坚定维护多边贸易体制。第三，拓展互利共赢合作空间，为开放型经济聚势蓄力。要优化区域经贸合作布局，高质量实施《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》等现有自贸协定，深化与全球南方国家在基础设施互联互通、产能合作及市场对接等领域的务实合作，促进发展机遇共享，反对一切形式的保护主义，共同维护全球产业链供应链的开放、稳定、安全与畅通。第四，优化跨境要素流动环境，为开放型经济畅通脉络。持续完善市场化、法治化、国际化一流营商环境，切实保护外商投资合法权益以增强吸引力，便利人员国际往来，促进知识、技术、数据等创新要素高效便捷流动，提升服务贸易发展水平。

2. Building a more just and reasonable global governance system through institutional opening up

2.以制度型开放构建更加公正合理的全球治理体系

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must steadily expand institutional opening up, actively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, deepen reforms in the management systems of foreign trade, foreign investment, and outbound investment, and create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment.” To practice the Global Governance Initiative and build a more just and reasonable global governance system, we must continuously advance institutional opening up, form institutional impetus for governance coordination, standardize the operational order of economic and trade cooperation, and build a dialogue framework for mutual learning among civilizations.

习近平总书记指出：“要稳步扩大制度型开放，主动对接国际高标准经贸规则，深化外贸、外商投资和对外投资管理体制改革，营造市场化、法治化、国际化一流营商环境。”践行全球治理倡议，构建更加公正合理的全球治理体系，要持续推进制度型开放，形成治理协同的制度动力，规范经贸合作的运行秩序，搭建文明互鉴的对话框架。

Advancing deep reforms through institutional opening up shapes a new ecology of global governance. First, institutional opening up provides basic support for governance coordination. Institutional opening up emphasizes the alignment and integration of rules, regulations, management, and standards. It transcends traditional opening up based on the flow of goods and factors, focusing more on constructing a new system for an open economy that aligns with international high-standard economic and trade rules at the institutional level, which is conducive to forming a unified, transparent, and predictable institutional environment. Second, governance coordination pushes global governance toward fairness and justice. On the one hand, fair and transparent international rules set a unified yardstick for global economic and trade activities, effectively curbing distorting behaviors such as market monopoly, reducing transaction costs and policy uncertainty. On the other hand, global governance mechanisms provide an institutionalized dialogue platform for different civilizations and value systems, transcending civilizational barriers, allowing different civilizations to express demands, exchange and learn from each other in mutual respect, and promoting the transformation of global governance from Western dominance to diverse co-governance, from power games to rule consensus. A standardized economic and trade order reduces trade frictions and development imbalances caused by the lack of rules, creating a fair competition environment for all countries, especially developing countries. An institutionalized framework for civilizational dialogue, through rules, condenses value consensus and lays the foundation for cooperation in addressing global challenges such as climate change and public health crises. Finally, China’s practice confirms the governance value of institutional opening up. Currently, China’s efforts to promote the connectivity of rules and standards of the Belt and Road Initiative, lead discussions on global digital and green finance rules, and implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are concrete actions that activate governance coordination and achieve international justice through institutional opening up. Only by continuously strengthening this institutional impetus can we truly build a new ecology of global governance that is inclusive, beneficial, and sustainable.

以制度型开放推进深层次改革，塑造全球治理新生态。首先，制度型开放为治理协同提供基础支撑。制度型开放强调规则、规制、管理、标准等方面的对接与融合，它超越了传统的商品和要素流动型开放，更注重从制度层面构建与国际高标准经贸规则相衔接的开放型经济新体制，有利于形成统一、透明、可预期的制度环境。其次，治理协同推动全球治理迈向公平正义。一方面，公平透明的国际规则为全球经贸活动设立统一标尺，有效约束市场垄断等扭曲行为，降低交易成本与政策不确定性。另一方面，全球治理机制为不同文明和价值体系提供制度化的对话平台，超越文明隔阂，让不同文明在相互尊重中表达诉求、交流互鉴，推动全球治理从西方主导转向多元共治、从权力博弈转向规则共识。规范化的经贸秩序减少了因规则缺失引发的贸易摩擦与发展失衡，为各国尤其是发展中国家创造了公平竞争的环境。制度化的文明对话框架则通过规则凝聚价值共识，为应对气候变化、公共卫生危机等全球性挑战奠定合作基础。最后，中国实践印证制度型开放的治理价值。当前，我国推动“一带一路”规则标准联通、引领全球数字与绿色金融规则讨论、落实《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》等实践，正是以制度型开放激活治理协同、实现国际正义的切实行动。唯有持续强化这一制度动力，才能构建真正包容、普惠、可持续的全球治理新生态。

Further promoting high-standard opening up requires continuously raising the level of institutional opening up. First, promote two-way interaction of rules to enhance the adaptability of institutional opening up. It is necessary to both actively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, deepen domestic reforms in areas such as market supervision, intellectual property, and data flow, and through stress tests in free trade pilot zones, align with international standards while based on national conditions; and also transform mature domestic experience into proposals for international rules, lead consultations and cooperation in emerging areas such as the digital economy and supply chain security, achieving a shift from “adapting to rules” to “co-creating rules.” Second, consolidate the foundation of the business environment to enhance the attractiveness of institutional opening up. Fully implement regulations related to the protection of foreign investment, ensure fair competition among various entities. Strengthen the full-chain protection of intellectual property rights, enhance the credibility of law enforcement. Strengthen the publicity and interpretation of opening-up policies, stabilize policy expectations, so that global investors are willing to come, can stay, and are good at developing, transforming institutional advantages into cooperation results. Third, build high-level open platforms to expand the influence of institutional opening up. Construct free trade pilot zones and free trade ports at a high standard, grant them greater autonomy in reform, and carry out breakthrough pilot projects in areas such as investment access, trade facilitation, and financial opening. Rely on national-level platforms such as the China International Supply Chain Expo, the China International Import Expo, and the China International Fair for Trade in Services to promote efficient docking of global factor resources, making these platforms important windows to showcase the effectiveness of institutional opening up and gather international consensus. Fourth, empower partners for common development to demonstrate the inclusiveness of institutional opening up. Incorporate issues such as the infrastructure gap and technological divide of developing countries into the core agenda, guide the targeted flow of resources through rule design, so that institutional dividends are truly transformed into momentum for inclusive development.

进一步推进高水平对外开放，需持续推进制度型开放水平的提升。第一，推动规则双向互动，提升制度型开放的适配性。既要主动对标国际高标准经贸规则，在市场监管、知识产权、数据流动等领域深化国内改革，通过自贸试验区压力测试，在立足国情的同时与国际接轨；也要将国内成熟经验转化为国际规则提案，在数字经济、供应链安全等新兴领域引领磋商合作，实现从“适应规则”到“共创规则”的转变。第二，筑牢营商环境根基，增强制度型开放的吸引力。全面落实外商投资保护相关法规，保障各类主体公平竞争。加强知识产权全链条保护，提升执法公信力。加强对外开放政策的宣传与解读，通过稳定政策预期，让全球投资者愿来、能留、善发展，将制度优势转化为合作成效。第三，打造高水平开放平台，拓展制度型开放的影响力。高标准建设自由贸易试验区、自由贸易港，赋予其更大改革自主权，在投资准入、贸易便利化、金融开放等领域开展突破性试点。依托链博会、进博会、服贸会等国家级平台，推动全球要素资源高效对接，让平台成为展示制度型开放成效、凝聚国际共识的重要窗口。第四，赋能伙伴共同发展，彰显制度型开放的包容性。将发展中国家基础设施缺口、技术鸿沟等议题纳入核心议程，通过规则设计引导资源定向流动，使制度红利切实转化为普惠发展动能。

3. Making the fruits of open development benefit the people of all countries more and more fairly

3.以开放发展成果更多更公平惠及各国人民

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must use openness to alleviate the difficulties of development, use openness to converge the power of cooperation, use openness to gather the momentum of innovation, and use openness to seek the benefits of sharing, promoting the continuous progress of economic globalization, enhancing the development momentum of all countries, and making the fruits of development benefit the people of all countries more and more fairly.” High-standard opening up should take enhancing the well-being of the people as its fundamental purpose, clarify the development direction of the open economy, and consolidate the rule consensus for open governance.

习近平总书记指出：“我们要以开放纾发展之困、以开放汇合作之力、以开放聚创新之势、以开放谋共享之福，推动经济全球化不断向前，增强各国发展动能，让发展成果更多更公平惠及各国人民。”高水平对外开放，应以增进民生福祉为根本目的，明确开放经济的发展方向，凝聚开放治理的规则共识。

High-standard opening up promotes high-quality development, painting a new picture of inclusive benefits for the people. First, inject a livelihood core into economic and trade cooperation. Different civilizations contain common pursuits of livelihood, which point out the value direction for economic and trade exchanges, that is, promoting international economic and trade cooperation with the improvement of people’s livelihood as the core. It guides the layout of industrial chains to balance the distribution of employment opportunities, focuses on the guarantee of supply of basic needs in trade exchanges, and concentrates on enhancing the capacity of public services in the field of investment cooperation, so that economic and trade activities always revolve around the development of people. Second, consolidate the foundation of public opinion for governance coordination. The deep impetus for global governance reform stems from the common pursuit of fairness and inclusiveness by different civilizations. Mutual learning among civilizations promotes the world to take into account the basic needs of developing countries in resource distribution, accommodate the actual conditions of different development stages in standard setting, and give priority to protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups in risk response, so that governance coordination is always based on people’s livelihood. Third, transform into concrete benefits for people’s livelihood. Promote the tilt of technology sharing toward livelihood areas such as poverty reduction, healthcare, and education, prompt policy coordination to focus on the guarantee of basic needs such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation, so that common development changes from a concept to an improvement in life that every family can touch. For example, projects such as the China-Laos Railway and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in international cooperation have created tax revenue and driven employment for local areas, enabling people of different countries to truly feel the sense of gain from mutual learning and cooperation among civilizations.

高水平开放推动高质量发展，绘就民生普惠新图景。首先，为经贸合作注入民生内核。不同文明蕴含着共同的民生追求，为经贸往来指明了价值方向，即以民生改善为核心推动国际经贸合作。它引导产业链布局时兼顾就业机会的均衡分配，贸易往来中注重基本需求的保障供给，在投资合作领域聚焦公共服务的能力提升，让经贸活动始终围绕人的发展展开。其次，为治理协同夯实民意基础。全球治理改革的深层动力，源于不同文明对公平、普惠的共同追求。文明互鉴推动世界在资源分配中兼顾发展中国家的基本需求，在标准制定中包容不同发展阶段的实际条件，在风险应对中优先保障困难群体的权益，让治理协同始终以民生为本。再次，转化为民生实效。推动技术共享向减贫、医疗、教育等民生领域倾斜，促使政策协调聚焦衣食住行等基本需求的保障，使共同发展从理念变为每个家庭可触摸的生活改善。例如，国际合作中的中老铁路、雅万高铁等项目，为当地创造税收、带动就业，让不同国家民众切实感受到文明互鉴与合作的获得感。

Further promoting high-standard opening up requires taking inclusive benefits for the people as a bond. First, activate the potential of people’s livelihood through open industrial cooperation. In the layout of industrial opening up, combine the industrial characteristics and livelihood needs of different civilizations to create integrated industrial clusters, which not only inherit civilization skills but also create employment opportunities, making industrial opening a joint point of mutual learning among civilizations and improvement of people’s livelihood. Second, integrate the wisdom of people’s livelihood through open innovation networks. Build a cross-border innovation cooperation network, focus on common difficulties in the field of people’s livelihood, gather innovative ideas from different civilizations, integrate wisdom from different civilizations that adapt to nature and sustainable development, carry out joint research and technical breakthroughs, and make the open innovation network a platform for integrating the wisdom of multiple civilizations to solve livelihood issues. Third, support livelihood projects through open financial cooperation. Innovate the mode of financial opening to the outside world, guide international financial resources to tilt toward livelihood projects, establish special cooperation funds, support projects that can both reflect local civilizational characteristics and effectively improve people’s livelihood, and use finance to promote civilizational inheritance and livelihood improvement. Fourth, enhance consensus among the people through open talent exchange. Expand the scope of opening up and exchange of talent, encourage professionals in the field of people’s livelihood to share experiences in livelihood services, enhance understanding and understanding of each other’s livelihood concepts and practices, and make the opening of talent a bridge to promote mutual learning among civilizations and optimize livelihood services.

进一步推进高水平对外开放，需以民生普惠为纽带。第一，通过开放产业合作激活民生潜能。在产业对外开放布局中，结合不同文明的产业特色与民生需求，打造融合性产业集群，既传承文明技艺，又创造就业岗位，让产业开放成为文明互鉴与民生改善的结合点。第二，通过开放创新网络融合民生智慧。构建跨国界的创新合作网络，聚焦民生领域的共性难题，汇聚不同文明的创新思路，整合不同文明中适应自然、可持续发展的智慧，开展联合研究与技术攻关，让开放的创新网络成为融合多元文明智慧解决民生问题的平台。第三，通过开放金融合作助力民生项目。创新金融对外开放模式，引导国际金融资源向民生项目倾斜，建立专项合作基金，支持既能体现当地文明特质，又能切实改善民众生活的项目，以金融促进文明传承与民生改善。第四，通过开放人才交流增进民意共识。扩大人才对外开放与交流的范围，鼓励民生领域专业人才分享民生服务经验，增进对彼此民生理念与实践的理解，让人才开放成为促进文明互鉴、优化民生服务的桥梁。

Openness is an important driving force for the progress of human civilization and the necessary path for global prosperity and development. To promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and practice the common values of all mankind, we must unswervingly advance high-standard opening up, creating a favorable external environment for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization.

开放是人类文明进步的重要动力，是世界繁荣发展的必由之路。推动构建人类命运共同体，践行全人类共同价值，需坚定不移推进高水平对外开放，为进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化营造良好外部环境。

(The author is Wang Heng, Researcher at Zhejiang Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Party Secretary of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University.)

（作者：王珩，系浙江省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员、浙江师范大学非洲研究院党委书记）