From the world's factory to the world's market: China's opening up

Editor's note: Tang Jie is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce of China. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

At a time when global trade growth is losing momentum and trade rules are shifting, China has chosen to counter external uncertainty with a commitment to openness: Strengthening trade ties by expanding imports, helping shape high-standard rules through institutional opening-up, and supporting more inclusive globalization through zero-tariff treatment for eligible developing countries. Guided by the principle of "guarding against risks through openness and building strength through openness," the Chinese market has come to play a stabilizing role in the restructuring of global supply chains.

Against a backdrop of rising protectionism and slowing global trade growth, China has continued to expand its opening-up, working to transform itself from the "world’s factory" into the "world’s market". By hosting the CIIE, it is strengthening the links between Chinese consumption and global trade and creating more trade opportunities for its partners around the world.

Over the past eight consecutive sessions, the CIIE has featured more than 3,400 landmark new products, technologies, and services making their debuts, with cumulative intended deals exceeding $580 billion—evidence that China's strategic choice to open its market proactively and advance reform through imports is delivering tangible results. The ninth CIIE, which opened on November 5 in Shanghai, has set new highs in the number of participating countries and companies, the scale of the exhibition, and the number of debut exhibits. 

For the first time, the number of Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders among the exhibitors has surpassed 300, reflecting global companies' confidence in China's vast and open market. The CIIE is emerging as a key bridge linking the Chinese market with global industrial and innovation chains and the consumer market.

In 2025, China's total goods trade exceeded 45 trillion yuan for the first time, up 3.8% year on year, keeping the country the world's largest trader in goods. Imports reached 18.48 trillion yuan, making China the world's second-largest import market for the 17th consecutive year. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first three quarters of 2026, import growth reached 22.3%, outpacing export growth by 5.9 percentage points. In September alone, monthly imports exceeded 2 trillion yuan for the first time. The upgrading of the import mix is equally evident. 

China's imports of machinery and electronic products reached 7.41 trillion yuan in 2025, up 5.7%, with electronic components rising 9.7% and computer parts 20%. China's imports are gradually shifting from a reliance on resources and intermediate goods toward a more balanced mix that gives equal weight to consumer goods, services, and technology.

Since its launch, the CIIE has offered free exhibition space to least developed countries. This year, the free exhibition area has been expanded by 17%, and the Asia-Africa Products Zone has been upgraded to help African countries with which China has diplomatic relations fully reap the benefits of zero tariffs on 100% of tariff lines. 

In the first three quarters of 2026, China imported 867.53 billion yuan of goods from the 63 countries eligible for zero-tariff treatment, up 15.3% year on year. The CIIE is thus becoming a platform for "inclusive and beneficial economic globalization" and a vivid illustration of how China's strategy of "buying from the world" is benefiting the entire world.

Improving trade has also helped sustain foreign investors' confidence. According to the China Business Environment Survey Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China in January 2026, 52% of the surveyed US companies rank China among their top-three global investment destinations, up 4 percentage points from the previous year; 57% plan to increase their investment in China; and 71% report no plans to relocate their operations outside China. Particularly telling is the shift in strategic positioning: Some foreign-invested companies are increasingly adopting an "in China, for the world" strategy. 

China is no longer merely a sales destination for multinational corporations but a global node for R&D, production, decision-making, and supply-chain collaboration. The more uncertain the external environment, the more foreign investors look to China for "certainty"—a contrast that captures the value of openness better than anything else.

If expanded imports have addressed the issue of "market access," institutional opening-up aims at "rule alignment." The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) emphasizes "expanding high-standard opening-up and fostering a new pattern of win-win cooperation," calling for wider market access with a focus on the service sector and steady progress in opening-up in rules, regulations, management, and standards. 

In 2024, the national negative list for foreign investment was cut to 29 items, with all restrictions on manufacturing removed; the national and free-trade-zone negative lists for cross-border services trade—71 and 68 items, respectively—were implemented in parallel; and the Hainan Free Trade Port launched island-wide independent customs operations on December 18, 2025, opening a new frontier of greater trade facilitation and opening-up.

In aligning itself with high-standard international economic and trade rules, China formally applied in 2021 to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement (DEPA); negotiations are ongoing, while its free trade zones are conducting stress tests. Shanghai has expanded its negative-list system for cross-border data transfers citywide, covering four sectors and nine specific business scenarios. 

Shenzhen Qianhai is continuing stress tests aligned with the CPTPP and DEPA and has introduced 14 first-in-the-nation reforms in the financial sector. The logic is clear: Translating high-standard rules domestically compels deeper reform in "behind-the-border" areas, releasing institutional dividends for high-quality development.