Overseas leaders sing praises of China's opening-up

Foreign business leaders and political figures have expressed strong interest in China's innovation-driven development and expanded opening-up, saying the country's long-term planning and vast market will continue to create broad opportunities for global cooperation.

They made the remarks at a thematic briefing on the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, or CPC, hosted by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing on Monday. The briefing drew more than 160 foreign participants.

The fourth plenary session, convened in Beijing in October, adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development.

Meira Hot, vice-president of the National Assembly of Slovenia, said that the 15th Five-Year Plan is expected to further elaborate China's rapid innovation-driven development, while also placing greater emphasis on facilitating mutual investment between China and the rest of the world.

She noted that China's role as a strong partner in the global economy will help reinforce the position of other cooperating countries.

Hot highlighted the plan's focus on high-quality opening-up, which she said is the right direction for China's future development.

She encouraged foreign investors to visit China and experience the country firsthand, saying this is essential for overcoming stereotypes and gaining a realistic understanding of China's business environment.

Pierre Mirochnikoff, vice-president of Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China, said that it is interesting and important to understand China's next five-year priorities.

He said he believes that there are more cooperation opportunities for Europe and China in areas such as green industry, artificial intelligence and other new technologies.

Benelux, the collective term for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, is always open to Chinese enterprise, Mirochnikoff said, as he believes that Chinese companies bring technologies and they can work together.

Masami Miyashita, vice-chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, said that China's development plans are highly visionary with long-term goals, which contributes to global economic stability.

Noting that his primary interest lies in how China will continue to drive growth through innovation, Miyashita said that Japanese companies also hope to participate in China's innovation-led development and pursue shared progress.

Miyashita added that China represents a vast and dynamic market, and Japanese enterprises have to think about how to deepen cooperation with China.

Xu Tianchen, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the 15th Five-Year Plan will shape China's policy trajectory, which will provide clear expectations for market participants.

Speaking of his expectations of China's opening up, Xu said that with the manufacturing sector already largely open, the next stage will prioritize opening the services sector, including finance, healthcare, telecommunications and value-added services.

He also stressed two-way opening-up, attracting foreign firms while supporting Chinese companies going abroad, which he said will define how domestic and foreign enterprises interact and collaborate in an evolving environment.