China opens doors wider, drives global economic growth

Editor's note: China will hold its annual Two Sessions in early March. Ahead of this year's key political meetings, CGTN presents a special series that takes an in-depth look at the country's endeavors in promoting people's livelihood, economic development, sci-tech innovation and opening up.

Amid rising global protectionism and economic uncertainty, the international community is closely watching China, as the world's second largest economy boldly keeps opening its doors wider, and vows continued efforts to be the primary engine driving global growth.

The upcoming Two Sessions, the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body, is expected to unveil a cluster of key economic policies that will be put in the international spotlight, as they set the tone for China's economic direction and its engagement with the international market.

Opening-up initiatives

In 2024, China took significant steps to expand institutional openness. It completely lifted restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector and, for the first time, established a nationwide negative list management system for cross-border services trade.

It has also promoted the orderly expansion of openness in sectors such as telecommunications, the internet, education, culture and healthcare. In addition, China has proactively aligned with high-standard international economic and trade rules, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

The response from multinational enterprises has been overwhelmingly positive, with many opting to increase their investments and expand operations in China.

According to the China Business Climate Survey Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China in January, 48 percent of surveyed U.S. companies ranked China as a top-three global investment priority, and furthermore, 53 percent of respondents plan to increase their investments in China by 2025, with nearly 70 percent of consumer sector companies expressing confidence in the Chinese market.

A research report by Deutsche Bank, published in February, also highlighted that 2025 could be a pivotal year for Chinese investment. "We believe that 2025 is the year when the investment community realizes that China is surpassing the rest of the world," it said.

Addressing the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, Switzerland in January, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang reiterated China's commitment to openness.

"China's door of opening up will not be closed and will only open even wider, and the business environment in China will only get better," said Ding. He welcomed foreign enterprises to invest and do business in China, and achieve greater success in sharing China's opportunities.

Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, told media that China's high-level opening-up initiatives will not only benefit the country's high-quality development, but also create growth opportunities for its economic partners amid a sluggish global economy.

Top driver of global growth

As the world's second-largest economy, China's average contribution to global economic growth has remained around 30 percent for the past five years, making it the largest driving force behind world economic growth, showed the results of the fifth national economic census published in December 2024.

In 2024, China's economy reached a new milestone, with its GDP surpassing 130 trillion yuan (about $18.08 trillion) for the first time, marking a 5.0 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, China holds the world's top positions in goods trade, foreign exchange reserves and manufacturing, and ranks second in service trade and domestic consumption market size.

Zhang Xiaotao, dean of the School of International Economics and Trade at Central University of Finance and Economics, emphasized China's increasingly prominent role as the world's second-largest economy.

"China is not only a key driver for the global economy growth, but also plays a crucial role of engine in global trade, investment, supply chains, and international cooperation," Zhang wrote in December.

Zhang further noted that the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has created significant opportunities for global trade and investment growth by promoting connectivity and the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

Initiated in 2013, the BRI has expanded over the years, with China signing cooperation documents with over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations. A report from the World Bank estimates that by 2030, BRI-related investments could lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.

According to Bloomberg calculations using International Monetary Fund forecasts in April 2024, China will be the top contributor to global economic growth over the next five years, with its share surpassing that of all Group of Seven countries combined.