In today's international community, two opposite options for development exist.

One is the anti-globalization trend, advocating trade protectionism and unilateralism. The United States, for example, is reversing its traditional promoting of free trade in favor of protectionism, US priority and reciprocal openness.

The US has also abdicated its responsibility to supply global public goods and successively withdrawn from international conventions it has been party to. If this trend continues, the postwar governance system for the world will eventually disintegrate.

The other option is reshaping globalization and promoting free and fair trade. This is the Chinese option. China has continually assumed greater international responsibility, as the US has relinquished it. In 2008, when the international financial crisis broke out, China carried out a crucial rescue operation. The next year, although accounting for only 8.5 percent of the world economy, it contributed nearly 50 percent of the global economic growth. Moreover, the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China injects vitality for balanced development and improvement of the current situation. And despite the lack of demand in the world economy, China is the only country to host an international import expo.

The tussle between anti-globalization and reshaping globalization have formed a complex and volatile international environment. But China's development is resilient, and it has huge potential and a strong driving force. Its positive development and solid real economy are here to stay, and its diverse ecological structure, comprehensive industrial chains and market with huge domestic needs are key advantages. So, unless it makes any big mistakes, China has the capability to meet and overcome challenges from other major countries, whether these be economic, political, ideological, strategic or security challenges.

In history, many significant conflicts happened not because of outside forces but because of mistakes by the participants themselves, including the trade war between the US and Japan, the Cold War, the exchange of hegemony between the US and the United Kingdom, and the currency competition between the US and Europe.

To avoid conflicts, all countries should adhere to three principles.

First, they should draw correct inferences regarding strategic intentions, so as to avoid splitting the world into two systems. This is significant to build an international system with the support of the great majority of the US people, while marginalizing the extreme right forces. In addition, China should not fall into the trap of opening-up too quickly. At present, the US, in a bid to win the moral high ground, is presenting the trade war as a battle between different development paths.

But history will prove that such a battle never existed, and that a trade war between China and the US was inevitable even if China followed the same path as the US.

China is now upgrading its opening-up. The Foreign Investment Law which will come into effect on Jan 1 is an important measure to create a law-based, convenient environment for international business.

China will also continue to revise its negative lists for foreign investment in the domestic market. In particular, it will further reduce the number of entries on its negative lists and expand the opening-up of service industries such as value-added telecommunications, medical institutions and education services, as well as transportation, infrastructure and energy and resources. It will continue to expand the opening-up of the financial industry, and accelerate the full access of foreign investment to the banking, securities and insurance industries, including expanding the scope of operations for foreign banks.

China will also facilitate foreign investors to make venture capital investments and set up investment companies, and improve regulations in favor of foreign investors making strategic investments in listed companies and conducting mergers and acquisitions of Chinese companies. It will also promote the opening-up of the bond market and introduce policies to create more convenient conditions for foreign investors to invest in and trade Chinese bonds.

All companies registered in China will be treated equally, regardless of their domestic or foreign origin.

To promote all-around and high-level opening-up, it is necessary to properly handle China-US relations. Forces of justice who can oppose trade protectionism, hegemonism and unilateralism and force the US administration to cooperate rationally will be welcomed by China.

Today, the extreme-right forces in the US are seeking to destroy China-US relations and build a world with two parallel systems, in a bid to comprehensively contain China. In this regard, China should actively take countermeasures and try to enhance cooperation between China and the US in the fields of economy, science and technology, industry, finance, energy and agriculture.

From the perspective of globalization, the new science and technology revolution, and the changes in China-US relations, China also needs to actively adjust and upgrade the layout of its industry chains.

It needs to build more communities with shared interests, responsibilities and destiny. In 2018, China's Engel coefficient was 28.4 percent, indicating that its consumption structure has entered a relatively affluent stage.

China is now the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries in the world. Next, it will become their most important export market for goods, services and e-commerce, and an indispensable driving force and partner for the growth of these economies. On this basis, we need to work hard to promote openness and cooperation, build an open economy for the world. As a result, the win-win economic globalization will become more open, inclusive, balanced.

The author is chief researcher at China Center for International Economics Exchanges.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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