China is continuing to deepen reform and expand opening-up amid downward economic pressure
and the novel coronavirus pneumonia, or COVID-19. Chinese governments at all levels and in all
regions have rolled out favorable policies to expand opening-up in virous aspects, offering strong
support to stabilize the Chinese and global economy.
The People’s Bank of China and Shanghai municipal government on Feb. 14 issued a guideline
together with other three departments to further build Shanghai into an international financial
center and boost the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.
The guideline, consisting of 30 measures, outlines support for such areas as science and
technology enterprises, financial management subsidiaries, new directions of investment by
insurance funds, foreign exchange derivatives from the interest rate options for yuan,
establishment of fintech companies in the Lingang area of the Shanghai pilot free trade zone, and
investment and trade liberalization and facilitation.
The guideline fully indicates that expanding opening-up of the financial sector is a long-held
policy of China, and its force and pace will not be affected by the epidemic.
To minimize the impacts from the epidemic on commerce, the Ministry of Commerce on Feb. 18
issued the Circular on Responding to Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia, Stabilizing Foreign Trade
and Foreign Investment and Promoting Consumption.
The circular requires that enterprises in foreign trade, foreign investment, commercial circulation
and e-commerce should be supported to resume work and production in an orderly manner, and
the joint construction of major projects along the “Belt and Road” should be promoted in a stable
and orderly manner.
It also urged that foreign trade management procedures should be simplified and enterprises
should be guided to apply for and receive paperless import and export licenses. The circular
pointed out that supportive policies should be given to strengthen export credit insurance, to
actively respond to overseas restrictions on trade, to stabilize confidence of foreign companies in
China, and to guide pilot free trade zones to speed up the establishment of trial zones for reform
and opening-up and innovation.
The government has also unveiled a package of policies to reduce or exempt taxes for enterprises,
increase fiscal expenditure, inject liquidity into the financial system, and reduce government
approval items and processes.
Although the epidemic has brought some pressure to the Chinese economy, many foreign
companies believe that the impact is short-term and remain confident in the Chinese market.
In mid-February, Oaktree Capital Management, an American private equity company, became the
first foreign company to set up a wholly owned unit in Beijing during the epidemic. The move
showed the strong appeal of the domestic financial market to foreign investment, as well as the
optimism of foreign companies about China's economy and capital market in the long run.
Such optimism is also reflected by the practices of other foreign-funded companies in China.
Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai is currently expanding capacity, attracting many foreign
enterprises on the industrial chain to invest in China. U.S. multinational food, snack, and beverage
corporation PepsiCo has also upped the ante in its investment in China, bringing over $700 million
to the Chinese market.
The epidemic cannot stop China from expanding opening-up. China has proactively followed the
trend of economic globalization, pursued development with its doors open and succeeded in the
historic transformation from a closed and semi-closed economy into a fully open one. Openness
has become a trademark of China. The country has grown by embracing the world, and the world
has also benefited from China’s opening-up. Standing at a new starting point of the history, China
will will only make its door to the world more and more open.
Greater openness leads to better development. Looking ahead, China’s important position in the
global supply and industry chains will not be changed by the impact of the epidemic. China will
adhere to the basic state policy of opening-up, advance opening-up to promote reform,
development, and innovation, and continue to promote a higher level of opening-up.
As China adjusts its industrial structure, new economic development models are taking shape in
the country. There are still many opportunities in the development of the Internet economy, big
data, cloud computing, 5G, new energy, high-end manufacturing, telemedicine, and online
education.
Seizing the current opportunities and turning crises into new opportunities, China will continue to
achieve common development with the world while opening itself wider.
