China will not stop its reforms in advancing Chinese modernization, and the door to the country will only open wider and never close, the spokesman for China's embassy in the United Kingdom said on Tuesday.
Minister Counselor Bi Haibo made the remarks during a briefing for journalists on the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that concluded last week in Beijing.
Responding to the question of whether China's reform has stalled, Bi said the plenum concluded that to deal with complex developments both at home and abroad, and adapt to the new round of scientific and technological revolution, it is vital that China continues to advance reform.
"Following the overall objectives and roadmap, we will further deepen reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. This is the road that we will not turn back," said Bi, referring to the resolution adopted at the third plenum. "The resolution put forward over 300 important reform measures, all of which pertain to systems and mechanisms that will unleash the internal driving forces and creativity of the whole country."
Since China adopted reform and opening-up as its basic national policy in 1978, foreign companies have contributed to the process and shared the benefits of China's development.
The third plenum has made further arrangements to promote China's high-standard opening-up, including further relaxing access to the country's goods, services, and capital markets, and ensuring foreign companies' rights are protected and that they are treated the same as indigenous enterprises.
"Currently, the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, and certain countries pursuing decoupling and breaking supply chains have threatened global development," Bi said. "China advocates inclusive and beneficial economic globalization, continuously providing new opportunities for the world through China's new development. China's door of openness will only open wider and will never close."
China saw 26,870 new foreign-invested enterprises established in the first half of 2024, representing a 14.2 percent year-on-year growth, and the country attracted nearly 500 billion yuan ($68.72 billion) in foreign investment, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce in early July.
In the second half of this year, China will continue to host major trade fairs, including the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China Digital Trade Expo, the China International Import Expo, and the China International Supply Chain Expo.
Bi said China's policy declarations and actions to proactively open its market align with high international trade and economic standards, and unwaveringly deepen reform and expand openness.
He highlighted that the economies of China and the UK are highly complementary, with broad cooperation potential in areas including new energy, electric vehicles, financial services, biopharmaceuticals, and creative industries.
"We are willing to share development opportunities with the UK and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in these areas," he said, adding that with the Labour Party forming the new government in the UK, he hoped there would be some more positive and significant engagements between the two nations.
Journalists from UK media, including Reuters, The Guardian, and Sky News as well as those from major Chinese media outlets attended the briefing.
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