"China in the Past Decade" Exhibition at the fifth China International Import Expo on Nov. 5, 2022, Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late 1978, China has put economic development first, focusing on reform and opening-up to the outside world. Today, China has risen to be the second largest economy in the world and a pivotal anchor and engine of world economic growth. As the 20th CPC National Congress in October 2022 pointed out, "To build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must, first and foremost, pursue high-quality development." High-level openness with benefits and results for all has become an important beacon for opening to the outside world in the new era. 

Productive opening-up

Since reform and opening-up were established as a basic state policy in 1978, China has been gradually shifting its focus from Western countries represented by Europe, the United States and Japan to all-round and extensive openness. Today, China has grown into the world's second largest economy and the largest manufacturing country. China is the only country in the world with all the industrial categories listed in the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), namely, 41 general industrial categories, 207 specific industrial categories and 666 industrial sub-categories. Such a complete industrial chain has won China great added value in manufacturing and is well-positioned to serve global enterprises and consumers.