An aerial view of Lujiazui, Shanghai Photo: VCG

In the coming week, China will host two consecutive high-level events, serving as "windows of opportunity" that provide important platforms for countries and businesses in Asia and beyond to understand China's economic outlook and opening-up measures following the recently concluded two sessions.

Renowned as a high-level forum and a key dialogue platform for the Chinese government, global businesses, academia, and international organizations, the China Development Forum (CDF) will take place on Sunday and Monday, followed by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in South China's Hainan Province from Tuesday to Friday.

Reaffirming China's pursuit of high-level opening-up and high-quality development, Chinese experts noted that these consecutive forums further underscore China's consistent policy and commitment to expanding economic openness and contributing to regional and global development and stability — a stark contrast to some protectionist policies advocated by the US administration which sow the seeds of uncertainty and have raised concerns among global businesses and investors.

More opportunities for the world

Under the theme "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy," this year's CDF will feature 12 symposiums and several closed-door sessions, covering topics such as healthcare, consumption, AI and sustainable supply chains. Global business leaders are looking to expand their presence in China as they gear up for the upcoming CDF.  

Several companies including Schneider Electric, TCP Group, BMW and Takeda Pharmaceutical reached by the Global Times have confirmed that their corporate executives will attend the forum.

"As an important engine of global economic growth, China boasts a vast market, a strong industrial foundation, and abundant innovative resources… China continues to expand high-level opening-up, improve the environment for foreign investment, and encourage multinational companies to establish deeper roots in China and grow together," Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman of Schneider Electric, told the Global Times on Friday.

We have seen the vast potential of the Chinese market, where digital transformation is sparking innovation, and green development goes hand in hand with technological advancements. These shifts create new opportunities for companies around the world, Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of TCP Group, also told the Global Times on Friday.

The theme for BFA 2025 has been set as "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future," emphasizing multilateralism, openness, and collaborative solutions to global challenges while maintaining a strong focus on Asia.

Many heads of international and regional organizations, ministerial-level officials, Fortune Global 500 executives, and renowned scholars have already confirmed their participation in the annual conference, according to BFA organizers.

During these upcoming forums, participants from around the world are expected to discuss key issues crucial to global economic development, working together to explore viable models for economic growth in today's complex global environment, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Friday.

"These forums are typically where China introduces new initiatives, and the international community expects that, despite the challenging global environment, China will continue to maintain its openness and create more opportunities for the world," Zhou added.

These two major forums follow the recently concluded two sessions, which emphasized China's commitment to expanding high-standard opening-up and stabilizing foreign trade and investment.

"Regardless of changes in the external environment, we should remain steadfast in our commitment to opening up," said China's 2025 Government Work Report. "We should steadily expand institutional opening up and take the initiative to open wider and advance unilateral opening up in a well-ordered way, to promote reform and development through greater openness."

Commitment to opening-up prevails

Ahead of the two key forums, officials from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) have been busy in meeting with executives from multinational companies.

On Friday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with David Ricks, Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly, and Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom.

On the same day, Wang also met with Ola Kallenius, president of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association and chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

He said that China is determined to expand high-level opening-up. No matter how the international situation changes, China's door to opening-up will never be closed. China's policy of attracting foreign investment is consistent and continuous, which will provide a more stable development environment and broader development space for foreign-funded enterprises including Mercedes-Benz.

In the coming period, more than a dozen senior executives from multinational corporations will visit MOFCOM, with about two-thirds of them from American companies, Yuyuantantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster China Central Television, said on Friday.

The two forums present valuable opportunities for countries and businesses across Asia and beyond to gain deeper insights into China's economic trajectory, its latest opening-up policies, and its strategies for fostering regional and global peace and development, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday. He described these forums as "windows of opportunity" for global engagement with China.

Gao noted that these back-to-back forums reflect China's strong dedication to deepening its high-level opening-up and strengthening international cooperation.

"This stands in sharp contrast to some of US policies, which have fueled uncertainty and raised concerns among global investors," he said, urging the US to adopt an open approach that prioritizes global cooperation over confrontation.

In recent months, the US government has imposed additional tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. It also raised global steel and aluminum tariffs to 25 percent and set an April 2 deadline for implementing reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners. 

An increasing number of US companies across various industries have voiced growing concerns over the severe consequences of these tariff policies. Many warn that the wave of tariffs could disrupt their supply chains and negatively impact their revenue outlook.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday China will adhere to opening-up, and firmly support the principle of free trade and the multilateral trading system no matter how the external environment may evolve, responding to a question about the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's cutting of the global economic growth forecast due to certain countries' trade barriers. 

China always welcomes businesses from all countries to make investment and expand their operation in China and share in the dividends of China's development, Mao also said on Thursday in response to a question regarding the participation of foreign corporate CEOs in the China Development Forum. 

On Friday, Shanghai welcomed 40 new regional headquarters and foreign-funded R&D centers. More than half of these belong to key industries such as electronic information, biopharmaceuticals and high-end equipment.

Also on Friday, the first batch of Tesla Megapack energy storage systems produced at Megafactory Shanghai departed the port en route to Australia, according to information shared by Tesla with the Global Times.

To continuously optimize services and improve the business environment, MOFCOM stated on Thursday that it will accelerate the implementation of pilot projects, steadily expand their scope, and actively introduce opening-up pilots in areas such as education and culture.

MOFCOM introduced a roundtable mechanism for foreign enterprises in 2023 and has since held over 30 such meetings, resolving more than 500 issues raised by foreign companies.