Global openness, cooperation stressed

Premier Li Qiang called on Tuesday for expanding mutual market openness among countries, and avoiding politicizing economic and trade issues and overstretching the concept of national security in this regard to collaboratively foster fresh growth drivers for the sluggish world economy.

Li made the remarks when holding the "1+10" Dialogue in Beijing with heads of major international economic organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.

He assured the participants that China's economy has forged ahead amid pressures and made new achievements this year. "We are confident and capable of accomplishing the whole year's economic and social development goals and tasks," Li said.

The dialogue, themed "Working Together on Global Governance for Shared Development", came as higher tariffs, being wielded around the world with growing restrictive measures on the economy and trade, have dealt a severe blow to the global economy amid mounting unilateralism and protectionism.

Li said that the world economy in 2025 has been marked by volatility and complexity, and is struggling against headwinds.

The emergence of new situations and trends has created an urgent need for reforming and improving global economic governance and maintaining the international trade and economic order, he said.

Li noted that President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative in September, offering Chinese wisdom and solutions to the international community to collectively address global challenges.

This dialogue aims to further build broad consensus and advance coordinated and effective actions by all parties to build a more just and reasonable global governance system and promote common development, he said.

The premier underlined the importance of upholding openness and cooperation, saying that "only through openness and cooperation can we create the greater room for growth, maintain stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, and accelerate technological and industrial upgrades".

He emphasized that China has always been a firm practitioner and promoter of openness and cooperation, saying that the country will continue to open its door wider to the outside world and welcome more foreign companies to explore the Chinese market.

China's economy will maintain a stable and positive trajectory and reach new heights in economic scale, with industrial upgrades creating new development spaces and the superlarge market unleashing potential demand at a far greater pace, he said.

China's gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025 despite rising external headwinds.

Newly released tax data for the first 11 months of 2025, totaling more than 29 trillion yuan ($4.1 trillion) in tax and fee revenues, has pointed to a steady growth momentum in China's economy, featuring a rise in consumption, resilient exports, advances in sci-tech innovation, greener development and further progress in the creation of a unified national market, according to the State Taxation Administration.

A report released on Thursday by fDi Intelligence, an investment research publication under the Financial Times, indicated that China is regarded by the largest number of interviewed global experts as the fastest-growing source of foreign direct investment in 2026.

Li expressed China's willingness to work with all parties to build a mutually beneficial international economic and trade framework, promote the deepening of economic globalization, enhance the authority and effectiveness of multilateral mechanisms, and gather greater synergy to promote common development.

The leaders of international economic organizations said at the meeting that over the past year, China's sustained and steady economic growth has made a significant contribution to global economic growth.

They said that China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) aligns closely with international economic and trade growth, injecting confidence and new momentum into global development.

They commended the country's efforts to uphold multilateralism, support the development of the Global South, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, saying that China has set an example for the world.

All parties attending the dialogue expressed their willingness to strengthen communication and cooperation with China in areas such as trade and investment, green development, artificial intelligence, livelihoods and employment, financial stability, and sustainable development, to uphold multilateralism and the free trade system and jointly promote global economic development.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn