The 7th New Year dialogue with foreign diplomats and business leaders hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) was held in Beijing on April 17, 2024, attracting over 400 guests representing 50 countries and regions. Photo: Ma Tong/GT

The China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) held an international dialogue between foreign diplomats and business leaders on Wednesday, aiming to further facilitate multilateral economic cooperation, as the country is vigorously promoting high-level opening-up amid its better-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter of the year.

The event, hosted by the CGCC for the seventh consecutive year, serves as an international business communication platform. It attracted over 400 guests representing 50 countries and regions, including over 20 foreign ambassadors in China, 150 commercial counselors from foreign embassies, and representatives of various business organizations.

China's stable and healthy development, combined with the emerging dividends of talent and strong economic vitality, will offer valuable opportunities for global investors, while helping to stabilize the world economy, Jiang Ming, president of the CGCC, said at the event.

China's economy has shown signs of steady recovery since the start of 2024. Fueled by the government's ongoing efforts to expand the opening-up process, business communities at home and abroad both see vast potential and opportunities in multilateral economic cooperation, especially among the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries that share strong economic complementarity with China, Fu Longcheng, vice president of the CGCC, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

China's GDP grew by 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024, well above market expectations, marking a robust start to the year. The country's total exports and imports expanded to reach 10.17 trillion yuan ($1.40 trillion), up 5 percent year-on-year, the strongest rise in six quarters, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Nilan Thimbiripola, a representative of the Sri Lanka Retailers Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday that China has stood out at the forefront of the world in terms of stepping up foreign investment and economic cooperation. Under the BRI framework, investments from China are actively supporting Sri Lanka's economic development in various sectors such as infrastructure, technology, and the green economy.

In line with China's continuous high-level opening-up, the event aims to help enterprises discover new opportunities in trade, investment, technological innovation, and other areas to promote coordinated economic development and shared prosperity. This will boost multilateral economic ties between China and foreign countries, according to the CGCC.

China is promoting a win-win cooperation approach in the world, especially among developing countries such as Mexico, said Carlos Gonzalez, director of a Mexican trade company, noting that the two countries share massive common interests in economic cooperation, especially in the manufacturing sector.

Global Times