A China-Europe freight train departs from Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, on November 18, 2024. Photo: VCG

Recently, two sets of freshly-released data about "China Cars" underscore the latest achievements of China's reform and opening-up.

The first set of data involves China's new-energy vehicles (NEV). By November 14, China's annual production of NEVs exceeded 10 million units this year, making it the first country in the world to reach this milestone. Also in the first 10 months, China's NEV exports exceeded 1 million units, hitting 1.058 million units, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.

The second set of data is about China-Europe freight train operations. On November 15, the total number of China-Europe freight train runs reached the milestone of 100,000, which have collectively delivered over 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods with a total value exceeding $420 billion. Meanwhile, the trains operate seven outbound trips and six return trips every week, signaling that the operations are essentially balanced in two-way flows. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a written speech to the APEC CEO Summit held on November 15 in Lima, said that "From Chancay to Shanghai" has now become a fashionable saying in Peru, an echo to the China Ships that arrived in Peru over 500 years ago.

The journey of "China Cars" and "China Ships" provides a vivid lens to zoom in the country's reform and opening-up efforts, and there are three key takeaways from this great process.

Economic globalization

The first insight is that economic globalization is always an unstoppable momentum. The historical tide may have faced headwinds and setbacks, but the overall development trajectory has never changed and will not change. 

The development of US EV maker Tesla in China serves as an epitome in this regard, demonstrating the fruitful outcomes of economic globalization, which also stands as a testament to the principle of "harmonious coexistence."

In October, the 3-millionth vehicle produced by Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai rolled off the assembly line, setting a new milestone. Of the 3 million vehicles, one-third have been exported to Europe and Asia-Pacific markets. In the first three quarters this year, the 676,000 Tesla cars delivered by the Shanghai Gigafactory accounted for more than half of Tesla's global deliveries, further cementing the factory's role as a "capacity cornerstone" for Tesla.

As to the Gigafactory's local supply, the components localization rate at the Shanghai Gigafactory has surpassed 95 percent, and the US firm has signed contracts with over 400 local tier-one suppliers in China, of which more than 60 suppliers have been integrated into Tesla's global supply chain. 

Besides Tesla, a good number of foreign carmakers, such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW, have stepped up investment in the Chinese market, which highlighted that China - with a full-fledged industrial chain, efficient market operation mechanism, and a healthy ecosystem for industrial competition - continues to attract global capital to invest and prosper in China.

China is not only a beneficiary of economic globalization but also a steadfast advocate, for this country is aware that "when the world prospers, China can prosper, and when China thrives, the world becomes an even better place."

As economic globalization gains pace, the integration and mutual interdependence among countries have deepened. From research and development to production, distribution and consumption, no single country can independently manage the entire lifecycle of an industrial and supply chain.

As such, the collaboration structure of "a bit of me in you and a bit of you in me" has grown more robust, which demonstrates that unilateralism and protectionism offer no viable path forward, and that the "small yard, high fence" approach would only end up trapping those inside. 

Some US and Western individuals have been hyping up the sensational narrative of "China's new energy overcapacity" for some time. As a matter of fact, those narratives are a manifestation of their "development anxiety" and "zero-sum game" thinking, which ultimately harms others without benefiting themselves.

Bountiful evidences have proved that the development of China's new energy industry is a genuine contribution to the world that also offers significant opportunities for many countries.

Take the "China Cars" as an example. In terms of NEV, the BYD Atto-3 model was anointed as the UK's best electric vehicle of 2023 by a British news outlet. Spanish media reports suggest that nearly half of Spaniards would consider purchasing a Chinese car as their next vehicle.

Reform and opening-up

In an address by President Xi at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on November 16 in Lima, Xi stressed that "China always promotes reform through opening-up."

That leads to the second takeaway - advancing reform through opening-up is a necessary requirement of the time. For more than 40 years, China's reform and opening up have been closely intertwined. Using opening-up to drive reform and development is a successful practice and a fundamental understanding of China's reform and development journey.

High-level opening-up is also a key driver for deepening reform and achieving China's high-quality development. Chinese policymakers have been advancing high-level opening-up and extending it to broader areas, wider fields and deeper levels since the beginning of this year. 

For example, China lifted all restrictions on foreign investment in its manufacturing sector on November 1. On November 8, China implemented a visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from nine countries. Earlier in September, China announced that wholly foreign-owned hospitals will be allowed to be set up in nine localities including Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

Those high-level opening-up inputs have significantly driven China's high-quality development and propelled its open economy to reach new heights. And China's status as a major trading nation and a leading player in two-way investment continues to fortify, with the inflow of foreign investment ranking among the top globally. 

On the other hand, deepening reform also provides institutional guarantee for further advancing high-level opening-up. 

In March, China issued a guideline as part of efforts to smooth payments for foreign travelers. Thanks to the measures, over 5 million inbound visitors have used mobile payment services in the first half of this year, marking a fourfold year-on-year increase.  

Since the beginning of the new era, China has made breakthroughs in key areas and critical sectors concerning the comprehensive deepening of reform, and the coordination and synergy between deep-level reforms and high-level opening-up have created new opportunities for economic development. 

In July, the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee, and adopted a comprehensive plan for further deepening reform across the board to advance Chinese modernization. More than 300 important reform measures were introduced at the meeting, and they will be fully implemented within five years. This will provide not only strong impetus for China's economic and social development, but also more opportunities for global development. 

The journey of reform and opening-up is a historical process of shared development and joint progress for China and the world. While profoundly transforming China, the reform and opening-up process has also significantly influenced the world. 

And based on the process, it is easy to conclude the third insight - China's door to opening-up is widening, which will provide significant opportunities for global development.

Take the "China Cars" for an example. The China-Europe freight train runs not only enable an increasing number of countries along the route to share the dividends of Chinese market, but also lead to the creation of new logistics hubs, industrial centers, trade hubs, and industrial parks. These developments have created numerous job opportunities for local communities and enhanced connectivity across the Eurasian continent.

In November, the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first national-level exposition dedicated to imports, concluded its 7th edition with a record of over $80 billion in signed trade deals, which showcased the vast opportunities of the Chinese market.

In addition to CIIE, China is also hosting other global trade fairs, one after another, as exemplified by the Canton Fair and the China International Fair for Trade in Services. Through the new development, China provides fresh opportunities to the world, promotes the building of an open world economy, and writes a new chapter of shared development between China and the world.

The stories of "China Cars" and "China Ships" shed light on "how history has been unfolding in unprecedented ways amid the changes in the world and the times." They also provide clues to answering the question: "What is happening to the world, and what should we do about it?"

China will deepen reform comprehensively and continue to provide robust momentum for the world economy. China also welcomes all parties to continue riding the "express train" of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy so that we can all contribute to the modernization of all countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity.