Making new ground in pursuing opening up on all fronts

Since the late 1970s, China has followed opening up as a basic national policy, and kept increasing its extent and depth. The country has undergone a historic change from being closed or semi-closed to opening to the outside world on all fronts.

From the Party's 18th National Congress, the Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core has explored new theories and practiced innovation. China builds closer contacts and integrates further with the outside world. It has also broken new ground in opening up on all fronts, with 11 FTZs (the Liaoning, Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Chongqing free trade zones in 2007; the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in 2012; and the Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian free trade zones in 2015) progressing at home, extensive international cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative, an inflow of overseas investment, increasingly procedure-based investment overseas, and development of a new institution of open economy.

 At its fifth plenary session in October 2015, the 18th CPC Central Committee made the decision to open China further through links running eastward and westward, across land and over sea. Xi Jinping echoed this at the Party's 19th National Congress, engaging to pursue opening up on all fronts. He stated that openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one lagging. China will not close its door to the world; we will only become more and more open. China adheres to the fundamental national policy of opening up and pursues development with its doors open wide, and the country will develop an open economy of higher standards. His words make it clear that China will keep on opening, and define the country's goals and how they will be realized in the new era.

The major tasks for China's overall opening up include:

–promoting Belt and Road cooperation;

–turning China into a trader of quality;

–improving the environment for overseas investment;

–balancing the opening of different regions;

–developing new ways for outbound investment; and

–promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

推動形成全面開放新格局

改革開放以來，中國堅持對外開放基本國策，不斷拓展對外開放的廣度和深度，實現了從封閉半封閉到全方位開放的歷史性轉變。黨的十八大以來，以習近平同志為核心的黨中央積極推進對外開放理論和實踐創新，中國與世界的聯系越來越緊密，中國融入世界的程度越來越深。近年來，從縱深推進“1+3+7”自貿區¹ 、全面實施“一帶一路”倡議，到積極利用外資和引導規范對外投資、建設開放型經濟新體制，中國全方位對外開放新格局正式確立。2015年10月，黨的十八屆五中全會明確提出，要打造陸海內外聯動、東西雙向開放的全面開放新格局。2017年10月，黨的十九大報告提出 ，推動形成全面開放新格局”，強調“開放帶來進步，封閉必然落后”，“中國開放的大門不會關閉，只會越開越大”“，中國堅持對外開放的基本國策，堅持打開國門搞建設，”“發展更高層次的開放型經濟”，系統回答了新時代中國要不要開放、要什么樣的開放、如何更好推動開放等重大命題。推動形成全面開放新格局的主要任務和重要舉措包括：扎實推進“一帶一路”建設，加快貿易強國建設，改善外商投資環境，優化區域開放布局，創新對外投資合作方式，促進貿易和投資自由化便利化。

“1”指的是2012年掛牌的上海自貿區，“3”指的是2015年掛牌的廣東、天津、福建自貿區，“7”指的是2017年掛牌的遼寧、浙江、河南、湖北、四川、陜西、重慶自貿區。