A more open China will benefit China-Israel common development
hina’s opening door will not close but open even wider,” promised Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum for Asia last month. He also sketched out a China that will keep up with the trend of the times and stick to opening up and win-win cooperation.
China will open wider because the Chinese people keenly understand the importance of doing so. Over 100 years ago, China fell behind other nations due to self-isolation. Forty years ago, the Chinese learned from painful experience and started to reform and open up. Over the past four decades, the Chinese people have stood up again, through hard work and an unyielding spirit. China has become the second largest economy and a key stabilizer and driving force of the world economy, contributing over 30% to world economic growth in recent years. China has become a positive force in preserving world peace and development by establishing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
China will open wider because the Chinese people profoundly understand that this is the only viable path to development. China’s reform and opening-up meets its people’s aspiration for national development and a better life. It also meets the global trend toward cooperation and peace. China is willing to work together with other countries, including Israel, to build a community with a shared future for mankind and a peaceful, tranquil, prosperous, open and beautiful world.
The Chinese always honor their word with real action. The promise that President Xi made at the Boao Forum is to be followed by four major measures, including significantly broadening market access, creating a more attractive investment environment, strengthening protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and taking the initiative to expand imports. These are concrete actions to unswervingly expand China’s openness and advance economic globalization and trade liberalization in a way that benefits the entire world. These strategic choices are decided solely by China, without any pressures from third parties, and following the trend of peace and cooperation, openness and connectivity, as well as reform and innovation.
This November, as another major initiative to open its market, China will hold the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. Israel has already confirmed its attendance and we are looking forward to seeing its highend products.
Only through the open door can the world come into China and China integrate into the world. China is willing to enhance its cooperation with Israel, the “Start-up Nation,” in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, water resource management, precision medicine and water-saving agriculture, in the form of joint research and development, technology transfer and financial cooperation for win-win results. More importantly, China will continue to enhance the IPR protection to safeguard the development of China-Israel cooperation. China has every intention to elevate the China-Israel Comprehensive Innovative Partnership to a new era, for our common benefit and prosperous future.
The author is ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the State of Israel.