Embarking on a New Journey from 2021, China will Create More and More Opportunities

The year 2020 was marked by the sudden onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deep recession of world economy and a more complex and severe external environment. Against the backdrop of such major challenges, China was the first to bring the pandemic under control, resume work and production and achieve positive economic growth. China’s gross domestic product expanded by 2.3% year-on-year last year, while the output of industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan expanded by 2.8%. The total retail sales of consumer goods in China exceeded 6 trillion US dollars in 2020. The total goods imports and exports in China expanded by 1.9% year-on-year and the actual utilization of foreign direct investment (FDI) expanded by 6.2%. As shown in the latest report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in January 2021, China became the world’s top recipient of foreign investment in 2020.

The prospect of China’s economic development has further boosted the confidence of foreign companies in developing in China. A total of more than 50,000 new foreign-funded enterprises were established in China in 2020. The recently released 2021 Business Climate Survey Report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China shows that 61% of US businesses view China as a priority investment destination and are confident that the Chinese government will further open the huge market to foreign investment. As pointed out by Joerg Wuttke, Chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, China’s economic growth will continue to account for 30% of the global growth in the next 10 years. This means huge development opportunities for global enterprises, and European companies will continue to participate in the China market. Also, the Business Impact Survey issued last year by Canada China Business Council shows that the Canadian business community is optimistic about their China businesses in the future and that most of the surveyed companies will maintain or improve China’s position in its future global business layout.

The 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025 will be the first five years for China to embark on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country. Entering a new stage of development, China will be committed to applying the new development philosophy, fostering a new development paradigm and pursuing high-quality development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, some major targets and tasks are: maintain sustained and healthy economic growth and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate within 5.5%; pursue innovation-driven development, transform and upgrade traditional industries, strengthen strategic emerging industries, promote the vigorous development of the service sector and speed up digitalization; create a robust domestic market, remove impediments to the rational flow of production factors and promote positive interplay between domestic circulation and international circulation; improve the new urbanization strategy and raise the percentage of permanent urban residents to 65% of the population; improve regional economic structures by promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt and the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area; promote green development, ensuring that China meets the target for its intended nationally determined contributions in response to climate change by 2030 and that energy consumption per unit of GDP and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP be reduced by 13.5% and 18% respectively; improve people’s well-being, raise the average life expectancy by 1 year and increase the coverage of basic old-age insurance to 95% of the population.

For 2021, the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China targets its GDP growth of over 6%, and aims to create more than 11 million new urban jobs and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate around 5.5%. Additionally, China expects steady increases in both the volume and quality of imports and exports and a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments. Furthermore, China will strive for a drop of around 3% in energy consumption per unit of GDP and continued reductions in the discharge of major pollutants.

China will pursue high-standard opening-up and create a new situation of win-win cooperation. In his special address at the World Economic Forum’s meeting “Davos Agenda” in January 2021, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed that China will continue to implement a win-win strategy of opening-up. In November 2020, China and other member states signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement; in December 2020, the negotiations of the China-EU investment agreement were concluded as scheduled. In February 2021, the Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries was successfully held. All these show that China is ready to work with all parties to shape and unleash the new momentum for world economic growth, and is willing to share with other countries the new opportunities presented by its development. In addition, China will further its opening-up voluntarily, continue to shorten negative lists for foreign investment, continue to promote opening-up including that of the service sector and continue to build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. China will continue to deepen multilateral, bilateral and regional economic cooperation, unswervingly safeguard the multilateral trading system and pursue mutual opening-up with various countries for mutual benefits and win-win results.

The Chinese and Canadian economies are highly complementary to each other, and there is great potential for cooperation between both sides. In 2020, Canada’s foreign trade declined by 10.9% year-on-year while its trade with China increased by 3.4%; Canada’s overall goods exports dropped by 11.8% while its goods exports to China expanded by 8.1%; Canada’s outbound direct investment dropped by 37.7% while its direct investment in China rose by 95.9%. China welcomes the Canadian business community to be actively engaged in the key areas of China’s development both in 2021 and during the entire 14th Five-Year Plan period, including the development of a modern industrial system, new urbanization, coordinated regional development, green development as well as livelihood improvement. Besides, the Canadian business community can focus on the new key areas of China’s opening-up, including the digital economy, Internet, finance, manufacturing, agriculture, medicine, education as well as the construction of the free trade port of Hainan. Making full use of China’s advantage of its super large market and its competitive strengths from supporting industries, human resources and infrastructure as well as taking advantage of platforms like China International Import Expo, Canton Fair, China International Fair for Trade in Services and the first China International Consumer Products Expo, the Canadian business community can further expand the two-way trade and economic cooperation between China and Canada.

At the same time, we regret that for the well-known reason, the current China-Canada relations continue to stay in difficulties, for which China takes no responsibility at all. Clinging to Cold War mentality and ideological bias, some Canadian politicians frequently whip up the “China threat theory” with “national security” as a reason and smear China’s image. Such actions have seriously disturbed Chinese companies’ investment in Canada. According to Canadian statistics, China’s direct investment in Canada dropped significantly in 2020.

Mutual respect and win-win cooperation are the basis for China-Canada economic and trade cooperation. It takes joint efforts of people from all walks of life in both countries to get China-Canada relations back on the right track. Only by respecting each other, treating each other as equals and respecting each other’s core interests and major concerns, can we promote the healthy development of China-Canada relations and clear the way to unleash the potential for bilateral cooperation. As a line in the Chinese classics reads, “A man of vision sees the trend of the times and follows it.” We sincerely hope that the Canadian business community can continue to make positive efforts to get China-Canada relations back on the right track and lay a solid foundation for further unleashing the potential for economic and trade cooperation between both countries.