A view of Lujiazui, Shanghai Photo: VCG

China will expand market access and open up more areas, particularly in the services sector, according to a Government Work Report submitted on Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation.

Specifically, the country will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields, take well-ordered steps to expand opening-up in the digital sector, and shorten the negative list for cross-border trade in services, the report said.

Brief as it is, the passage is rich in information. The emphasis on expanding market access in the services sector sends a strong signal that China is making a significant leap, from opening up its manufacturing sector to pursuing a higher level of institutional opening-up in services.

For a long time, China's opening-up achievements have been centered primarily on manufacturing. From establishing special economic zones to joining the World Trade Organization, and ultimately removing all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, these sustained efforts have yielded a high degree of openness, establishing China as a global manufacturing powerhouse.

And now, opening-up in the services sector is picking up pace. Although it now accounts for 57.7 percent of China's GDP and plays an increasingly vital role, there remains huge potential for development. Expanding market access to attract more sophisticated international services providers would not only meet rising domestic consumption demand but also help drive improvements in quality and efficiency in the domestic industry.

The three specific sectors highlighted in the Government Work Report - value-added telecom services, biotechnology, and wholly foreign-owned hospitals - perfectly illustrate this logic. All are technology-intensive, knowledge-intensive, and subject to stringent regulation. When foreign capital enters these sectors, it brings not just investment but internationally recognized technical standards, management practices, and services models that will catalyze comprehensive upgrading across related industries.

From the perspective of domestic industry development, expanding opening-up in the services sector is a requirement for promoting high-quality development. Opening up services, particularly producer services such as research and development, design, and other management functions, can enhance efficiency and help manufacturing move up the global value chain. 

Meanwhile, opening up consumer services such as healthcare, eldercare, and education directly addresses people's diverse needs for a better life. The competitive pressure generated by opening-up will accelerate technological innovation and management transformation among domestic enterprises, ultimately improving total factor productivity.

The commitment to shortening "the negative list for cross-border trade in services" provides the essential institutional framework for achieving these goals. The negative list embodies international high-standard trade and investment rules, granting market entities maximum freedom and certainty. 

Continuously shortening this list means progressively reducing restrictions on foreign investment while making rules more transparent and streamlined. For both Chinese and foreign enterprises, a stable, predictable, and transparent business environment holds great appeal these days amid rising unilateralism and protectionism overseas. 

Amid the current international situation, the significance of these opening-up measures becomes even clearer. Amid a weak global economic recovery and rising protectionism, China remains committed to its fundamental state policy of opening-up, taking concrete actions to safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains. This policy not only fuels its own development but also provides valuable support for building an open world economy.

The opening-up measures outlined in the Government Work Report send a clear message to the world: China's economic progress is built on openness, continuous self-improvement, and an enterprising embrace of the global community, moving forward without resorting to protectionism. From opening-up in the manufacturing sector to services opening-up, China is pursuing a higher level of institutional openness. By integrating more deeply into the global economy, it is achieving its own high-quality development while injecting sustained momentum into global economic growth.