Opinion | China should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks
Hu Shuli says the trade pact's goal of removing barriers to competition is in line with the policy directions set out by China's recent party plenum
Now that Communist Party leaders have announced their decision to take China in the direction of fuller, deeper reforms, the attention is on how it can be done.
Not only do we hope to see concrete measures implemented in good order, we urge policymakers to continue opening up China's economy and society to seize opportunities in the global economy. China's 35 years of reform experience demonstrates the success of this strategy; it's what China needs today.
As the plenum communiqué puts it: China must continue to open up domestically and internationally, welcoming foreign businesses while at the same time encouraging local industries to go overseas; it should ensure factors of production are mobile, resources are efficiently allocated and markets are well run; it should foster co-operation amid global competition; and it must lower the entry bar for foreign investment, accelerate the set-up of free trade zones and open up China's inland areas.
The history of Chinese reforms is a history of liberalisation. From the establishment of special economic zones to the country's admission into the World Trade Organisation, liberalisation has proved to be a most powerful growth driver.
Much has changed in the past five years: post financial crisis, the global economy saw the end of an extended period of high growth. While the economy restructures, new rules are being drawn up.
China - which studies show is only moderately open to the world, compared to advanced economies - must prepare itself for further liberalisation.
In particular, China must reconsider its attitude towards the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership. Indeed, recent signs indicate that its attitude changed. While Beijing regarded the negotiations as part of the US "pivot" towards Asia and largely an instrument deployed to "contain" China, its view today has become more positive. At the recent Apec meeting in Bali, President Xi Jinping said China was open to any partnership that would further integration of the Asia-Pacific region.
