KATHMANDU- China has said that it was committed to its long-standing national policy of opening-up. Organizing a press conference for the first time after concluding its plenary session of the central committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), officials say that their basic national policy of opening-up remains intact, and will never waver in it.
“No matter how the international situation changes, we will never waver in our basic national policy of opening-up,” Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Office of Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, said. “This is a move out of China’s own initiative, not a forced response; it is a long-term strategy, not a matter of expediency.”
The statement from the Chinese CPC officials comes amid global concerns about its ‘dual circulation’ model putting it in the path to a ‘closed’ economy. The fifth plenary session of 19th central committee held in Beijing between October 26 and October 29 adopted the CPC Central Committee’s proposals for the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035, according to Chinese media.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the session which also heard and discussed a work report that he presented on behalf of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, according to a communiqué released during the press meet.
While expressing their commitment to the policy of ‘opening-up’, the plenary has put China’s modernization and technological self-reliance at its core strategy, according to the communiqué. Chinese officials have said that the country will push for technological independence amid escalating tensions with the Western world led by the US.
“Technological self sufficiency is a strategic pillar of the nation’s development,” Wang Zhigang, minister of Science and Technology, said. “We must boost independent innovation and do our own job well. That’s because key technologies can’t be bought or asked for [from others].”
The US has banned a number of Chinese companies including Huawei, citing national security concerns. However, Wang was quick to add that a “complete decoupling is unrealistic”.
