World Openness Report 2023 released, openness index dips

The World Openness Index, gauging the openness levels of 129 economies from 2008 to 2022, was released on Sunday at the sixth Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai.

The "World Openness Report 2023" report, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum at the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Sunday, shows the 2022 World Openness Index falling to 0.7542, down 0.4 percent from 2021, a continued overall downward trend, with the intensified divergence of openness between countries, sectors and regions.

The main factors contributing to the tightening of openness include an increase in measures unrelated to tariffs, a decrease in cross-border direct investment and a decrease in the international citation of scientific literature, the report said.

"As active openness and conservative seclusion are colliding fiercely and stuck in a contradictory stalemate, countries still need to work together, meeting each other halfway to maintain and expand world opening-up," according to the report.

Zhang Yuyan, an economist with the CASS, said despite the overall downward trend in world openness, there is hope for further progress on opening up.

Progress in scientific research, digital intelligence and green development has reduced barriers to the flow of goods, services and information and boosted the performance of opening up, Zhang said.

The 10 most open economies in 2022 were Singapore, Germany, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, according to the index.

From 2008 to 2022, China achieved significant progress in expanding its opening up to the outside world, with its openness index rising from 0.6789 to 0.7517, ranking among the top areas in the world, said the report.

"The benign interaction between China and the world in opening up has become an example of warranted openness, which also implies China's goodwill and commitment to proactively open up and build a human community of shared future," said Gu Xueming, president of the Research Center for the Hongqiao International Economic Forum.

(With input from Xinhua)

(CGTN's Chen Tong and Zhang Yize also contributed to this story)