Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone recorded a 270.3 percent year-on-year increase in foreign investment from January to August this year, CCTV News reported on Sunday. 

This figure stands out against the backdrop of a weak global investment climate. It highlights the free trade zone's combined strengths in location, industry and policy and shows that foreign investments are moving in response to favorable conditions, signaling that a new pattern of China's opening-up is taking shape.

The rapid growth of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone carries significance far beyond a single region. In an international environment filled with uncertainty, the most valuable resource for international capital is growth certainty. The continuity and predictability of China's overall opening-up policies are increasingly becoming a major draw for global investors. Across China, expanding market opportunities and a steadily improving business environment are giving foreign investors greater stability and confidence.

As an important hub connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with ASEAN, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is transforming its unique geographical advantages into new momentum for open development. 

This shift reflects an emerging trend in China's opening-up: Foreign investment is gradually moving beyond the traditional coastal first-tier cities in the east toward inland and western regions, creating a more balanced and diversified landscape of opening-up.

Against the backdrop of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) implementation and the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Guangxi is transforming into a new strategic hub, moving to the forefront of open cooperation. This geopolitical hub position provides new strategic space for foreign investment. As the construction of new land and sea corridors continues, Guangxi's role as a bridge connecting China's central and western regions with ASEAN markets will become increasingly prominent.

Amid China's broader trend of expanding institutional opening-up, Guangxi has actively taken steps to promote a dual drive of institutional opening-up and industrial opening-up. 

In 2023, local authorities released a plan to further deepen the reform and opening-up of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The plan set new targets for expanding foreign trade cooperation and attracting foreign investment, aiming to develop the zone into a core hub that facilitates free and convenient access to both the domestic and international dual-circulation markets, serving ASEAN and other members of the RCEP.

At the national level, China has removed all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector. Guangxi has introduced the new model for cross-border industry cooperation, offering multinational companies supply chain solutions with integrated land-sea connectivity. Building on the nationwide promotion of financial openness in free trade zones, Guangxi has taken the lead in piloting measures such as cross-border digital yuan settlement, further attracting foreign investment inflows. The strong alignment with national opening-up policies, combined with swift implementation, is exactly what draws foreign investment to the region.

The remarkable 270.3 percent growth rate is impressive, but even more noteworthy is the improvement in the structure of foreign investment. In attracting capital, the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone places greater emphasis on investment quality and industrial synergy. Many incoming projects focus on high-end manufacturing, modern services, and the green economy, while sectors such as cross-border e-commerce, modern logistics, and new-energy equipment are emerging as new hot spots for foreign investment.

Amid cautious global capital flows and an overall decline in cross-border investment, the growth of foreign investment in the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone reflects China's economic resilience and the confidence that its expanding opening-up provides to foreign investors. Foreign investment decisions are never impulsive; they are rational choices based on long-term comparisons. 

That capital is moving in response to favorable conditions signals that confidence remains. This confidence stems from stable macroeconomic policies, a solid industrial foundation, and the continuous institutional innovation efforts at the local level.

International capital continues to recognize China's commitment to opening-up and its institutional advantages. Looking ahead, as regions like Guangxi continue to deepen institutional innovation and international cooperation, the development of a new pattern of opening-up is expected to advance further.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn