A freighter prepares to dock at the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

China, which has the greatest market potential in the world, is expected to import more than $22 trillion worth of goods over the next decade, which will inject direct and lasting vitality to the world economy to help the recovery from COVID-19, Huang Qifan, vice president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and the former mayor of Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, told a financial forum arranged by ICBC International and Caixin in Beijing on Sunday.

Under the dual-circulation development plan, China will no longer aim for trade surplus and blindly expand exports, but will expand imports appropriately to achieve balanced foreign trade, Huang said.

The import expansion will give China an advantage in future trade talks and promoting the internationalization of the yuan, as well as the yuan's pricing power for payments on important resources, added Huang.

Huang also believes that China's emphasis on achieving scientific and technological self-reliance will not only help enhance its own innovation capabilities, but also help strengthen global technology and industrial cooperation.

As China is committed to creating a business environment that is compatible with high-level economic and trade rules, it has become a stabilizer and safe haven for global multinational investment, said the former official.