Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex global environment, the upcoming launch of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) has drawn extensive attention. Among a series of expected highlights, more targeted and sound policies to attract foreign capital are expected, especially when China has committed to deepen reform and opening-up, and foreign capital has a golden opportunity to grow amid China's improving business environment.

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will be held in Beijing from Monday to Thursday, with plans to deliberate a CPC document concerning the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development as well as targets for 2035.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues ripping across the world, the global economy is expected to shrink by 4.4 percent in 2020, and China may be the only major economy to record growth, according to an estimate from the IMF earlier this month.

With the novel coronavirus under firm control domestically, the Chinese economy has seen a recovery that has been better than expected. The 1.4 billion-person consumption market has seen increasing expansion in recent years with growing momentum, and it has become one of the largest consumption markets in the world.

Also, the Chinese market has shown a trend toward consumption upgrading with an increasing preference for high-end products and services, for which Chinese authorities have expanded opening up for certain industries. This segment is expected to be enhanced further in the future.

For foreign businesses intending to take advantage of the Chinese economy's momentum and prospects, they need to offer more advanced products and services in line with the development trend of the market.

China, as the second-largest economy in the world, has been unswervingly promoting the reform and opening-up policy, with a largely improved business environment for both domestic and foreign firms under the guidance of internationalization, legislation and facilitation. This trend is expected to be enhanced during the next five years as well.

Both expanding consumption and the continuously improving business environment in China will provide a great chance for foreign capital to grow and expand in this populous market, at a time when the global economy is under huge pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For instance, China rolled out a new export control law and its own unreliable entity list system. Both are steps for China to shore up its legislation in a bid to offer a fair and stable environment for all businesses. Given a non-discriminatory stance toward foreign firms operating in China, legal operations will be protected while illegal operations will be dealt with according to the law.

China offers a huge market and complete industry chains, and it welcomes foreign firms to join the growing economy and contribute to the recovery of the global economy from the fallout of the virus.

The article was compiled based on an interview with Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn