Opening-up Huang Xilian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of the Philippines
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing from July 15 to 18, 2024. With a view to advancing Chinese modernization, this session made an overall plan for further deepening reform across the board. It serves as a crucial window for countries worldwide, especially our neighbors and partners, to accurately understand China, grasp the pulse of China, and comprehend China's commitment to high-quality development and high-standard opening-up.
I. The Third Plenary Session Shows China’s Commitment to Continuous Reform and Opening-up
The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC in 1978 marked the beginning of China's great journey toward reform, opening-up, and socialist modernization. The focus of the country shifted towards economic development, with flexible opening-up policies implemented in coastal areas such as Guangdong and Fujian, enabling the Chinese people to catch up with the times in great strides. During the 45 years from 1978 to 2023, China's economic growth rate averaged 8.9% annually. Subsequently, each third plenary session has focused on economic reform, carrying the expectation of formulating major economic reform policies.
The third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC in 2013 heralded a new era of comprehensive reform in China, addressing economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological conservation aspects, among others. This continuous improvement and development of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has modernizedChina’s system and capacity for governance. That same year, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations, promoting the shared vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC this year is also ofepoch-making significance. The overall objectives of further deepening reform comprehensively are to continue improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernize China’s system and capacity for governance. By 2035, we will have finished building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects, further improved the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, generally modernized our system and capacity for governance, and basically realized socialist modernization. All of this will lay a solid foundation for building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century.
II. Advancing Chinese Modernization as the Theme of Deepening Reform Across the Board
Initiating a new phase of Chinese modernization still relies on reform and opening up, with economic system reform as the key driver. The Chinese government will organize various reforms around this primary task: building a high-standard socialist market economy and properly managing the relationship between government and market—where the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation, and the government focuses on addressing market failures. China will innovate and improve macro regulation, coordinating significant fiscal, monetary, industrial, pricing, and employment strategies to enhance macroeconomic governance. China will advance high-standard opening-upby aligning with international high standards in economic and trade rules, improving the protection mechanism for foreign investors' rights and interests, accelerating the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, and promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. Major landmark projects, along with "small yet smart" livelihood projects, will be advanced in a coordinated manner. Over 300 main reform measures are proposed at this plenary session, all of which will evolve into thousands of specific reform plans with promising prospects.
The aim of deepening reforms comprehensively is to harmonize and mutually promote relations of production and new quality productive forces. China will vigorously develop new quality productive forces, based on the new development stage, guided by the new development philosophy, and characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality. Continuous increase of institutional support will be a goal: actively nurturing future industries, leading technological progress, driving industrial upgrades, and pioneering new fields such as quantum and life sciences. Energy-saving and carbon-reduction measures will be introduced to traditional industries like steel, oil refining, and cement, with key industries undergoing mergers and cross-regional integrations. Advanced manufacturing clusters will be fostered, promoting high-end, intelligent, and green manufacturing. Comprehensive innovation will be strongly supported, with educational reform focusing on cultivating outstanding innovative talent, scientific and technological system reform emphasizing key core technologies, and talent development system reform implementing more open and effective talent policies. The synergy between education, science and technology, and talent will drive innovation-led development. From the above, one can discern the systematic nature of China's reforms, the continuity of its policies, and the stability of its development.
III. China's High-Standard Opening-upWill Bring Five Major Benefits to Neighboring Countries
Opening-up is a distinctive feature of Chinese modernization. The plenary session reiterated that China will persist in promoting reform through opening-up, leveraging the strengths of its enormous market to expand international cooperation. It is estimated by IMF that every 1% growth in China's GDP contributes to a 0.3% increase in Asia's economy. The high-standard opening-up of China's large market presents a significant opportunity for the world, providing neighboring countries, especially those in ASEAN, new development momentum across various fields.
1. Promoting regional cooperation to new heights: June this year marks the one-year anniversary of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) fully takingeffect for 15 signatory countries. More than 90% of tariffs for trade in goods have been eliminated. Service trade opening-up commitments and the negative list model for non-service industry investment have injected impetus into regional prosperity and development. In 2023, greenfield investment in the RCEP region attracted $234.1 billion, a 29.8% increase, and 2.2 times that of 2021.
2. An enormous market and complate industrial chains benefit trade and investment.China will continue deepening the reform of the foreign trade and investment system and relaxing market access. Since 2013, trade between China and ASEAN has grown at an annual average rate of 8.8%. In the first half of 2024, ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with a total trade volume of $469 billion, growing by 10.5%. Bilateral investment has flourished, with cumulative investments exceeding $380 billion, making ASEAN China's primary destination for foreign investment and the leading source of foreign direct investment.
3. Emerging industry cooperation fostering new momentum. China and ASEAN have established a digital economy partnership, achieving significant results in e-commerce, smart cities, and digital transformation, with progress in the construction of information hubs to promote digital connectivity. Green cooperation has expanded steadily, with notable achievements such as the largest solar power plant in Southeast Asia, the Dau Tieng Solar Power Project in Vietnam, and Indonesia's first floating photovoltaic project, the Cirata Floating Photovoltaic Plant, supporting ASEAN's green and low-carbon development.
4. Complementary advantages closely linking production and supply chains: China has signed capacity cooperation agreements with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and other countries to jointly build the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone in Cambodia, the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park, and the “Two countries, Twin Parks” between Chinaand Malaysia, China and Indonesia, and China and the Philippines, promoting in-depth regional capacity development. Chinese companies are engaging in international capacity cooperation in Malaysia and Thailand, enhancing the resilience of the production and supply chains in the electric vehicle and new energy sectors, and leading regional opening-up and cooperation.
5. Strengthening infrastructure construction and cultural exchange: The high-quality cooperation under the Belt and RoadInitiative between China and ASEAN has yielded remarkable results, with landmark projects such as the China-Laos Railway, the Golden Port Expressway, and the Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway being completed one after another, addressinginadequate infrastructure investment and lagging connectivity. The geographic proximity, close people-to-people bonds, and cultural affinity between China and ASEAN provide a solid foundation for practical cooperation. Joint efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and establishing healthcare cooperation platforms propelledthe sustainable development of bilateral relations. Looking ahead, China-ASEAN cooperation is poised to deepen continuously, moving towards an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
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