The recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference called for taking the first step and achieving positive changes in building a new development paradigm next year. As the world's second-largest economy and the only major economy to achieve positive economic growth this year, China's construction of a new development paradigm and its advancement of reform and opening up at a higher starting point will provide broader markets and more new development opportunities for countries around the world.
　　New opportunities stem from the continuously unleashed consumption potential. China's super-large market of 1.4 billion people is an important engine driving global economic growth. As of November, Japan's exports to China have maintained positive growth for five consecutive months; the latest fiscal year's operating income of Carl Zeiss China reached 8 billion RMB, making China surpass the United States and Germany to become Zeiss's largest market globally… Reports predict that China's middle-income group will reach 800 million in the next 15 years, with strong and enormous potential for consumption upgrades.
The conference proposed "adhering to expanding domestic demand as a strategic focus," emphasizing the need for "effective institutional arrangements in reasonably guiding consumption, savings, and investment," and making supporting policy arrangements for expanding consumption, promoting employment, and increasing investment. Ding Ke, a researcher at the Japan Center for Economic Research, believes that the conference's emphasis on expanding domestic demand, focusing on demand-side management, optimizing income distribution structure, and expanding the middle-income group are crucial for China to form a strong domestic market and achieve high-quality development.
New opportunities come from the firm steps towards expanding opening up. China adheres to an open strategy of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, continuously promotes expanding opening up, strives to improve the investment and business environment, significantly reduces restrictions on foreign investment access, and is one of the most popular destinations for foreign investment globally. This year, global cross-border investment has been severely impacted by the epidemic, but China's actual use of foreign capital shows a steady and positive trend, becoming one of the few major economies in the world to maintain growth in attracting foreign investment. Bloomberg News reported that international investment giants are optimistic about the huge opportunities in China and are launching new strategies focused on China. Morgan Stanley's Asia-Pacific executives said that Morgan Stanley is a "major beneficiary of this openness."
The conference emphasized "fully promoting reform and opening up," proposing "strengthening international macroeconomic policy coordination," "creating a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment," and "actively considering joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership"… A series of clear and powerful policy signals demonstrate China's determination to implement "wider, broader, and deeper opening up." Yu Hong, a senior researcher at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said that China's fully promoting reform and opening up, attracting more foreign investment by improving the business environment, will help China's economic development and contribute to the world economic recovery.
New opportunities come from the innovation-driven development strategy. Innovation occupies a core position in China's modernization construction and is the key to solving the problems of unbalanced and inadequate development and promoting high-quality development. The conference listed strengthening national strategic scientific and technological forces as the top priority for next year. In the future, as China's new driving forces for innovative development continue to strengthen and new industries grow rapidly, the vitality of the Chinese economy will further burst forth, thereby powerfully driving global growth.
International Data Corporation recently released a report predicting that China's share of the global artificial intelligence market will reach 15.6% in 2024, becoming an important driving force for global market growth. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Finance, said that as Saudi Arabia expands digital services nationwide, many Chinese companies have been assisting the country's development in areas such as 5G. "We highly value our Chinese partners and hope to expand bilateral cooperation in further developing the digital economy."

China's development is inseparable from the world, and the world's prosperity also needs China. As China embarks on a new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modern country, China's high-quality economic development will surely inject more confidence and vitality into the post-epidemic world. (Reporter Li Jie)

Source: Xinhua News Agency