Some scholars argue that China plays a bigger role in global economic governance and the making of international rules only because of the passive attitude of a certain developed country toward multilateral institutions. Indeed, increasing unilateralism and trade protectionism and the undercurrent of "anti-globalization" are the reasons why China is playing a more important role in the global arena. But this view overlooks China's internal need for further opening-up and building an open world economy.

China is undergoing profound developmental changes because of new challenges at home and abroad. The report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China says socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era with new driving forces for and contradictions in economic development.

In the face of rising production costs and environmental and resource constraints, the traditional path of economic development is no longer sustainable. It is time the economy shifted from quantitative economic growth to innovation-driven qualitative development.

China has always been a staunch supporter of free trade and multilateralism. Since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, it has actively engaged in economic globalization and become a major contributor to global economic growth.

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. Since then China has built the initiative into a global cooperation platform benefiting all participating countries and regions. China's proposal also led to the founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Silk Road Fund, BRICS New Development Bank, China-UN Peace and Development Fund and the South-South Cooperation and Assistance Fund. China has also organized the UN's first permanent peacekeeping police force.

In November, Shanghai hosted the second China International Import Expo, providing countries from around the world a chance to demonstrate their economic achievements and promote their products. This shows China's willingness to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

But a certain developed country has triggered trade conflicts and broken WTO rules in order to fulfill its own interests. It has resorted to unilateralism and protectionism to protect its manufacturing industries, harming both itself and other countries. This is the main reason behind the slowdown of global trade and economic growth.

Globalization has brought economies around the world even closer. So if an economy resorts to protectionism, it will impede normal economic cooperation and exchanges among different countries, and disrupt the international division of labor, and the resource distribution system. Which in turn could lead to trade wars, resulting in sluggish economic growth, if not recession. The Great Depression in the 1930s is an example of such a scenario.

But a certain developed country still sticks to the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game.

According to the global trade theory, free trade benefits all participating economies. Upholding multilateralism, building an open global economy, facilitating the free flow of production factors including labor force, capital and technology will increase the efficiency of the resource distribution system and deepen market integration while reducing production costs and bringing more economic benefits. Such practices can benefit all stakeholders.

Hence, on the one hand, developed economies reap extra profits from global trade by using their advantages in industry, research and development, and technology, as well as their favorable status in the global value, industrial and supply chains. On the other hand, developing and emerging economies can use their relatively low cost of labor, abundant natural resources and large markets, and can learn advanced technologies and management expertise from developed countries to increase their productivity and expedite their socio-economic development by participating in the global division of labor. Multilateralism is good for everybody.

Despite facing challenges from protectionism and unilateralism, China's door to opening-up will not close. Rather, it will open wider and wider. And it will continue to defend and promote multilateralism, support free trade, and build an open global economy.

To achieve this, however, China has to take the following measures:

First, it has to expand imports. The China International Import Expo, whose second edition concluded on Sunday, is being developed as a platform to demonstrate the achievements of China's opening-up and a channel to increase imports. It will also help optimize the trade structure by introducing more advanced equipment, resources and quality consumer goods, thus expanding the import of knowledge-intensive services with high value-added and high-tech content, which will cater to Chinese people's growing need for a better life and the requirements for developing high-tech industries.

Second, it has to realize innovation-driven development. China should encourage enterprises to innovate and cultivate more homemade brands. For this, it should give more support to high-tech enterprises, lower the financing cost and managerial risks, help the enterprises to grasp key technologies and break the technological bottlenecks through innovation, and strive to climb up the global value, industrial and supply chains.

Also, the country should accelerate the commercialization and application of core technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain, promote the integration of new technologies and industry, push for industrial transformation and upgrading, and implement the "go-global strategy".

Third, China should take more active part in global economic governance, by helping boost the reform of major global economic organizations, gain a bigger say in global trade rules and standards and proactively participate in their formulation. It should also promote "China's plans" in major global trade issues, and more deeply engage in multilateral and regional cooperation mechanisms such as G20, BRICS and APEC, and speed up the building of high-level free trade zones.

And fourth, it has to strive for higher-level opening-up. For instance, it should improve the business environment by implementing the measures laid out in the Foreign Investment Law, further optimizing the foreign trade management system and facilitating foreign trade.

It also has to accelerate the building of pilot free trade zones and ports, implement pilot programs in more areas, and promote innovation by reforming the management and services of institutions, in order to build a new landscape of comprehensive, higher-level openingup.

The author is vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce. 

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

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