Why China's openness reshapes global economic order

Editor's note: Huang Yongfu is a special commentator for CGTN on economic affairs. After earning a PhD in economics, he started his career at the University of Cambridge and then moved on to the UN system. His current interests lie in Sino-US links and global development. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

This year's Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference is of special interest with its focus on "Shaping the Future Together: New Trends, New Opportunities and New Cooperation" at a time when rising protectionism and the spread of "de-risking" are eroding global trade and investment cooperation.

Renewed protectionism and fragmentation in global trade

The United States and several of its allies are at the forefront of trade protectionism. Washington's decision in April 2025 to impose sweeping "reciprocal tariffs," justified on the basis of so-called trade imbalances, perceived unfair practices and "national security" imperatives, was a culmination of the "trade war."

Amplified by geopolitical maneuvers, this has resulted in security-driven, exclusive economic groupings, moving away from inclusive rule-making toward narrower and interest-led coordination.

Weaponized supply chains and sharpened bloc-based rivalries have pushed global trade relations into their most confrontational phase. They have caused the most dramatic fragmentation across markets, supply chains and institutions in the global economy and weighed most heavily on developing economies seeking to integrate into global manufacturing and services networks.

However, instead of protecting or enhancing the US economy, higher tariffs have become higher production costs for domestic manufacturers, elevated prices for consumers, complicated inflation management and weakened confidence in the US.

The global repercussions have been broad and structural. The world economy has begun to rely not on deepened trade integration but more on domestic demand. Cross-border trade and investment volumes have decreased. Geopolitical risks remain high and confidence in the rules-based trading system has been eroded.

China's commitment to high-level opening up

In contrast to the US protectionist stance, China has a different set of economic policies, outlining wider opening, deeper integration and more proactive participation in global governance. China's reaffirmation of high-level opening up carries broad significance, a strategic signal about the kind of international order China envisions.

Beijing is committed to opening its vast market as a global public good and inviting international partners to participate in a more efficient, interconnected global supply-chain architecture. This sharply contrasts with Western powers increasingly treating market access as a strategic weapon rather than a bridge to shared prosperity. China's recent move to grant zero-tariff treatment to least-developed countries to support equitable global growth underscores this commitment.

China is also consistently sharing its knowledge and technology with its trade partners, from green technologies, digital industries and advanced manufacturing to artificial intelligence (AI) solutions as global public goods. This is also in stark contrast to the growing trend toward technological fragmentation and industrial decoupling seen in parts of the advanced world.

As debates over "decoupling" or "de-risking" intensify, China has doubled down on its efforts to shift toward higher value-added growth and cultivate "new quality productive forces," a concept of advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, green energy, AI and innovation-intensive services.

It is also pursuing an outward-oriented approach that stresses the integration of technological development with global markets rather than isolationism to achieve technological self-sufficiency.

In addition, Beijing is continuously articulating its support for inclusive economic globalization and genuine multilateralism, serving as a counterweight to the rising tide of unilateralism and fragmentation that threatens to paralyze global governance. Multilateralism is a proactive safeguard for policy coordination for financial stability, climate action and technological governance.

The China-proposed Global Governance Initiative argues that global governance should not be dominated by a single geopolitical center but reflect an increasingly polycentric world, one that is equitable and inclusive.

While Western powers take an increasingly zero-sum competition approach toward the Global South for unilateral gain, in China's view, the Global South is the backbone of a more balanced and inclusive global economy and important development partners. Through structural investments, infrastructure financing, digital economy partnerships and renewable energy deployment, China has been helping reshape development trajectories in these countries for decades.

The future of global economic order

Economists know that free trade increases prosperity at home and abroad by bringing efficiency, innovation and better products at lower costs. China advocates openness, connectivity and development-oriented cooperation for a more balanced and participatory global economic order.

How the future global economic order and even the structure of geopolitics will look like depends on how Western economies respond to China's commitment to openness.

If they respond proactively by opening their own markets, for example, then global prosperity will be shared and sustainable via deeper cooperation and policy alignments across innovation, governance, green development and supply chains.

But if they continue sliding into zero-sum thinking, the role of the Global South in shaping the global agenda will be bigger and their voice in global economic governance stronger. China's engagement with these peers through trade, infrastructure and development partnerships will reinforce this shift with tangible economic outcomes.

The current economic and supply-chain turmoil has confirmed that friends are invaluable in a pinch. Facing an aggressive and expansionist West, China and the rest of the Global South have the opportunity to join forces and become stronger than ever.

And as it winds up today, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 will throw more light on China's vision and plans as well as global experts' thoughts and recommendations.

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