China to continue promoting reform, opening-up in 2025: authorities

China

China to continue promoting reform, opening-up in 2025: authorities

2025-01-03 16:35 Last Updated At：17:27

Facing the profound and complex changes in the global economic landscape, China remains firmly committed to expanding its opening-up, and will continue to promote reform, development and win-win cooperation through opening-up in 2025, said a deputy chief of the country's top economic planner on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, summarized the great achievements of the country's reform and opening-up over the past year, and briefed on new policy measures to be adopted to promote reform and opening up in 2025.

"First, the 2024 edition of the negative list for foreign investment access was released and put to implementation, with the number of restrictions significantly reduced from 93 in 2015 to 29 now, and with all restrictions in the manufacturing sector lifted. In 2024, it's evident that China has been continuously optimizing its border entry facilitation policies. The number of countries covered by China's unilateral visa-free access policy has increased to 38, and the visa-free transit policy has been extended to 54 countries, with the permitted layover by eligible transit passengers increasing to 10 days," Zhao said.

"Second, relying on the role of dedicated teams for major foreign projects, we have kept proactively providing follow-up services for major foreign investment projects, helping solve problems that arose in the course of project execution. As of now, the first seven batches of 51 projects have achieved a total investment of 92 billion U.S. dollars, with 30 projects already in operation. In the first 11 months of 2024, over 52,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, a year-on-year growth of 8.9 percent. China is now leveraging its super-large market to attract the gathering of global resources," he said.

"Third, in 2024, China signed new Belt and Road cooperation agreements with 23 other countries and the African Union to promote the construction of major landmark projects and 'small yet smart' livelihood projects in a coordinated manner. In the first 11 months of 2024, the trade volume between China and the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 2.54 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for around half of China's total foreign trade," he continued.

The senior official also stressed that China's determination to open up further to the outside world remains unwavering. In 2025, the country will surely take many new measures to improve the systems and mechanisms, policy guidance and service guarantee.

"In terms of systems and mechanisms, we will steadily expand institutional opening-up, further create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized. We will also deepen reform of the foreign investment promotion system and mechanism, and take effective measures to encourage foreign-funded enterprises to reinvest in China. Regarding policy guidance, we will revise and expand the catalog of industries in which foreign investment is encouraged, guiding more foreign investment to advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy conservation and environmental protection sectors, as well as to China's central, western and northeastern regions," he said.

"Meanwhile, we will accelerate the preparations for the Hainan Free Trade Port's customs closure operation, further improve the software and hardware conditions for the customs closure operation, and support Hainan in vigorously cultivating and developing an export-oriented economy. For service assurance, a new batch of major foreign investment projects will be launched in due course. The country will continue to build platforms for investment matchmaking between transnationals and local regions, prompt transnationals to increase investment and promote practical cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises," Zhao noted.

Gaza residents clear rubble by hand as large-scale reconstruction stalls

Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are manually removing rubble using basic tools, in the absence of heavy machinery and international reconstruction assistance.

Seven months into a fragile ceasefire, large-scale reconstruction remains largely stalled in Gaza, with Israeli restrictions on construction materials and unresolved political disputes deemed as key obstacles.

Many families in the enclave say they can no longer wait for rebuilding plans to begin.

Mohammad Adel, who lost his seven-story home in Khan Younis during the war, has been living with his family under difficult displacement conditions in the crowded tents of Al Mawasi for more than two years.

Unable to wait any longer, Adel decided to begin clearing the rubble of his home by hand.

"We see that there will be no reconstruction for Gaza and the closure is very strict on us. Waiting for reconstruction will take a very long time, so we started working and removing the rubble with our own hands. As you can see, this will cost us money, but we are trying to prepare the place so we can live in it," he said.

For some unemployed workers, clearing debris has become a temporary source of income amid the economic collapse caused by the war.

"Today, financial means have become nonexistent. Before the war, I had a chicken farm, but my work stopped because of the war. So I searched for another job that could provide me with an income, and I have no choice except this extremely exhausting work," said Abdullah Al Bayouk, a worker.

Palestinian officials warn that the continued delay in reconstruction is forcing thousands of displaced families to remain inside tents or unsafe damaged buildings, under worsening humanitarian conditions.

"Over 400,000 residential buildings have been either totally destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, along with more than 60 million tons of rubble. And 3,000 more housing units are at risk of collapse, yet people are still living inside them," said Mohannad Abboud, director of reconstruction of the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works.

A recent UN report showed that rebuilding Gaza and clearing the debris will require more than 71 billion U.S. dollars over the next decade. The rubble is estimated to cover around 78 percent of buildings across the strip.