By Qiu Hui

A scene of the sixth CIIE at National Exhibition and Conference Center,Shanghai.(VCG)

An economy thrives in openness and withers in seclusion

O pening-up has always been a hot topic at the China International Import Expo(CIIE),the world’s first import expo held at the national level.During the sixth CIIE,the Hongqiao International Economic Forum held on November 6 attracted many participants from government departments,academia,and the business sector to conduct indepth discussions on global trade and the challenges it faces.Participants agreed that multi-party dialogue is key to the issue.

Making Global Trade Great Again

Today,every country is seeking optimal ways to address the challenges facing global economic governance and the global trade system to secure a balance between safety and economic growth.

“The multilateral trade system is now enduring its most difficult time since its founding over seven decades ago,” said Yi Xiaozhun,former Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).“The rising trade protectionism around the globe has severely undermined the leadership and dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO,dampening negotiations on multilateral trade.”

Arancha Gonzalez,Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain,remarked that after three decades of relatively stable trade in the world,the global financial crisis pummeled commercial intercourse,after which trade inequality became more frequent,not to mention that external problems such as climate change have been growing to threaten the global trade landscape.

Tim Yeend,Associate Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia,referred to his country as an example of the significance of global trade.In the long term,the country has been relying on multilateral trade to secure development,which means that it must pursue economic growth to maintain continuous growth of foreign trade and create more job opportunities for its people.

On November 5,the first day of the sixth CIIE,Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area to communicate with Australian exhibitors.In his speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the CIIE,Albanese said he was happy to see so many Australian enterprises participating in the significant event and expressed hope that the CIIE would enhance relations and communication between Australia and China.

“China is a great trading partner for Australia,and we hope to strengthen trade relations with China,” Yeend said,suggesting that to keep stable trade relations,countries should first build stable dialogue relations.

Honduran Foreign Minister Alvaro Reina (second left,front) cuts the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the Honduras Pavilion in the Country Exhibition Area of the sixth CIIE in Shanghai on November 6,2023.(MA DELIN)

Yeend explained that a series of problems including uncertainties in the global economy,geopolitical tensions,energy and food shortages,and climate change have all created challenges for the current global trade system.The WTO should play a bigger role in uniting all parties to tackle the problems before it is too late.

Open Wider

While the world economy grapples with multiple challenges,this CIIE,first at full normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic,released a strong signal that China stands ready to share development opportunities with the world.

Ling Ji,Vice Minister of Commerce,said that already,as an important measure for China to expand openingup,the CIIE has become an international public good for the world.

The World Openness Report 2023,released during the sixth CIIE,showed that in 2022 the World Openness Index was at 0.7542,down by 5.4 percent from 0.7975 in 2008,the second lowest level since 2008.From 2008 to 2022,China achieved remarkable progress in expanding opening-up,with its openness index rising from 0.6789 to 0.7517,ranking among the top areas in the world.

Wu Fulin,Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of China,stated that while the World Openness Index keeps falling,the CIIE serves as a great opportunity from China for the world.

“This year’s CIIE is the largest in scale since its launch,which testifies to the market’s need for a platform,” said Wu.“The key is to take advantage of this platform and act immediately.”

All countries,including China,should open their markets.According to Gonzalez,China could work with European countries to build open markets and improve the multilateral trading system and its rules.

An economy thrives in openness and withers in seclusion.“Measures to tackle carbon emissions and climate change should be complementary instead of contradictory to WTO’s regulations for multilateral trade,” said Yi.He added that all major economies,including China,the U.S.,and the European Union,should shape the direction of WTO’s reform,continue to facilitate trade liberalization and facilitation,and reaffirm commitment to the rules-based multilateral trading system.Only when all countries engage in cooperation within the framework of the multilateral trading system will the world not slide back to unilateralism.