Nation's opening to further intensify

China's policymakers outlined details of the to-do list for the nation's future opening-up on Friday, pledging initiatives to increase unilateral opening to least-developed countries and expanded access to the commodity, service, capital and labor markets in a well-paced manner.

The priorities for the nation's reform and opening-up until 2029 were mapped out during the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Party's central leadership, held between Monday and Thursday.

Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, explained at a news conference that expanding institutional opening-up and building a high standard open economy were the key aspect of the reform-themed resolution adopted at the epoch-making policy meeting.

"We will turn China's vast market into a major opportunity for the world," he said, adding that Beijing will continue to make life more convenient for foreign travelers in terms of accommodation, medical services and payments.

Other priorities include developing major landmark projects and small and beautiful livelihood projects to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Over 300 reform measures were outlined in the resolution on further deepening reform to advance Chinese modernization, widely expected to be released in full in the coming days.

According to a communique released by the Party's central leadership on Thursday, the nation will deepen foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, and improve planning for regional opening-up.

The measures came after Beijing rolled out 15-day visa-free regimes for tourists from 15 countries and expanded the coverage of its 144-hour visa-free transit policy to 37 ports of entry recently, in a gesture of welcoming more travelers to the nation.

Mu Hong, deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Deepening Reform, told the Friday briefing that evolving global landscapes and mounting external uncertainties will not waver "the resolve and confidence" of China to make greater strides in reform and opening-up.

"We are moving ahead one step at a time toward our goals, undeterred by any risk and not swayed by any disturbance. This demonstrates the strong determination and will of our Party to press ahead with reforms," he said.

Meanwhile, officials have also sought to extend a strong message on Friday that China will remain a top destination for global investment.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China saw the establishment of 26,870 new foreign-invested enterprises in the first half of this year, marking a 14.2 percent increase year-on-year. However, the nation's foreign direct investment dropped by 29.1 percent year-on-year to 498.91 billion yuan ($68.65 billion) during the period.

Han told the Friday briefing the fall in FDI into China is only temporary. "As the nation's business environment continues to improve and market opportunities multiply, China's utilization of foreign capital is set to keep expanding."

The official reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to creating a transparent, stable and predictable institutional environment for foreign firms.

"We need to proactively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, ensuring compatibility and alignment in rules, management and standards in areas such as intellectual property protection, industrial subsidies, environmental standards, labor protection, government procurement, e-commerce and the financial sector."

He stressed the necessity to fully put in place the negative list for cross-border services trade, and promote the well-paced expansion of openness in areas such as telecommunications, the internet, education, culture and healthcare.

To level the playing field for domestic and foreign businesses, Han said foreign enterprises must receive national treatment in areas such as access to resources, qualification and licensing, standard-setting and government procurement.

"We are willing to share the great opportunities from China's development of new quality productive forces and the advance of Chinese modernization. We'll be pleased and wish to see foreign companies thriving together with the Chinese economy."

The signals from the Party leadership toward greater strides in opening-up have buoyed the confidence of global business leaders and analysts.

Jean-Christophe Pointeau, president of Pfizer China, said he believes that China's reforms will further unleash market vitality, better allocate resources, boost the innovation and competitiveness of China's economy, and lead to the overall progress of the economy and society.

"Pfizer is looking forward to the future of China's economy," he said. "China's world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized will further enhance foreign investors' confidence. And multinational companies, including Pfizer, will be more willing to invest and expand their business in China."

He explained that the government's reforms over the past decade have enabled the pharmaceutical giant to introduce some innovative drugs in China even faster than in the European Union and Japan.

Ren Jing, senior vice-president of Schneider Electric, said the French industrial and technology group will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market and increase investment in new energy projects.

The company is set to put the second phase of an innovation base in Shanghai into operation in September to provide advanced testing services for R&D centered in China and develop more green, low-carbon intelligent electrical products for Chinese users, she said.

Dereck Ji, managing partner for China at ADL Consulting, a Belgium-based consulting firm, said one of the key signals from the policy meeting this week is that China's comprehensive deepening of reform has continued to expand in breadth and depth, providing broad opportunities for many enterprises, including foreign investors.

"The Chinese market has advantages that no other market can match, especially in terms of infrastructure, scale and capital, which are massively attractive to multinationals."