Jiangsu’s Mission to Serve a New Development Pattern and Build a Two-Way Opening Hub of Global Convergence

In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress， General Secretary Xi Jinping made it clear that “China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up”， and made important arrangements for “promoting high-standard opening up”. At the Central Economic Work Conference 2023， General Secretary Xi stressed that “it is crucial to strengthen the endogenous driving force for development through reform and opening up， ensure the advancement of both profound reforms and high-level opening up in a coordinated way”. This series of important remarks provide a fundamental guideline and guide to action for China to expand high-level opening up in the new era and on the new journey.

As a major economically developed province and a major opening one at that， Jiangsu has received strong support and ardent expectations of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the CPC Central Committee. Since the 20th CPC National Congress， General Secretary Xi has made two inspection tours to Jiangsu， twice attended the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation to the National People’s Congress ， and made a series of important instructions on the work of Jiangsu. During the national “Two Sessions” 2023， General Secretary Xi encouraged Jiangsu to continue to take the lead in high-quality development and emphasized steady expansion of institutional opening up. In July 2023， General Secretary Xi visited Jiangsu and pointed out that Jiangsu has the ability and responsibility to be on the front of advancing Chinese modernization， leading and setting an example， and gave Jiangsu the important task of building a two-way opening hub of global convergence. During the national “Two Sessions” 2024， taking part in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation， General Secretary Xi made an important speech on developing new quality productive forces in context of local conditions， calling on the province to deepen comprehensive reform and continue to enhance endogenous drivers and vitality for development， emphasizing on continuous construction of first-class business environment featuring marketization， the rule of law， and internationalization， and shaping a new advantage of opening economy at a higher level. Well digesting the spirit of General Secretary Xi’s important speeches， we have come to a profound understanding that in order to advance a high level of opening to the outside world and build a two-way opening hub of global convergence， it is necessary to stand on strategic and global high ground， accurately grasp theoretical logic and practical logic therein， and fully understand its significance for Jiangsu’s development as well as for the overall situation of the nation as a whole.

Behind building a two-way opening hub of world convergence， lies General Secretary Xi’s profound considerations on building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress calls for “accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development”， makes high-level opening-up an important part of it with pertinent arrangements， and emphasizes attracting global resources and production factors with our strong domestic economy， and amplify the interplay between domestic and international markets and resources. For Jiangsu， to the east is China’s important gateway of opening， and to the west lies the underpinning of vast hinterland， itself being a junction of the Belt and Road. Building a “two-way opening hub” is a necessary choice for making good use of two markets and resources and smoothing the domestic and international dual circulation. We should gain a deep command of the relationship between domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international dual circulation， both relying on Jiangsu’s advantage in industry and market scale to proactively speed up nurturing a complete domestic demand system， and adhering to improving the ability to allocate resources facing the globe so as to develop an open economy at a higher level， and also bring into play the key role of comprehensively deepening reforms， strive to break chokepoints and bottlenecks that constrain the “dual cycles”， and promote the formation of a development pattern with efficient and smooth going domestic and international markets and resources .

Behind building a two-way opening hub of world convergence， lies General Secretary Xi’s strategic planning to expand opening-up at a higher level under the new circumstances. Since reform and opening up， China has seized the opportunities of economic globalization， continuously expanded opening to the outside world， and made world-renowned achievements. As the world undergoes profound changes unseen in a century， the international environment is becoming increasingly complex， and the trend of anti-globalization is on the rise， impacting the stability of global industrial and supply chains， and hindering global scientific and technological progress and economic development. For all this， as General Secretary Xi makes it crystal clear， “no matter how the world will change， China’s faith in and its commitment to reform and opening-up will not waver.” General Secretary Xi personally plans important arrangements such as promoting the Belt and Road cooperation， advocating the adaptation of global， opening and security visions that get with the times， and making major initiatives to build an open world economy and to construct a community with a shared future for mankind， which are broadly acclaimed in the international community. It is against this background that as Jiangsu builds a two-way opening hub of world convergence， it must anchor the direction of economic globalization， take up the responsibility of leading and setting an example， be on the front in constructing a new system of open economy at a higher level， and create new advantage in international cooperation and competition， adding to the illumination of the nation with the light of a domain， and showing the world that China will not close its door of opening-up， but will only open wider， with firm determination and solid results.