The attention paid by domestic and foreign academic circles to “Institutional Opening-up” and “International Regulatory Cooperation” has increased year by year, and it has become one of the core issues of domestic and foreign academic research after the 20th CPC National Congress. So far, relevant research has achieved relatively fruitful research results. By combing through the relevant research results in China in recent years, we found that the academic community’s research on “steadily expanding institutional opening-up” “regulatory reform” mainly focuses on four aspects: realistic background, theoretical connotation, specific path, and important fields.
A. Academic History and Overview of Related Research at Home and Abroad
1. The realistic background for steadily expanding institutional opening-up
1.1 China’s economic development is in a critical period of
transformation and upgrading. At present, our country has shifted to a stage of high-quality development, and the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development is still prominent (Shen Guobing, 2 022 ). At present, domestic economic development is facing various pressures such as the realization of the “three-phase superposition” and “dual carbon” goals , the acceleration of population aging, and the widening income gap between urban and rural areas (Yao Shujie et al., 2022). Specifically, the transformation and upgrading of China’s economy requires reforming the market economic system (Li Xiao, 2021), smoothing the international and domestic dual cycles, promoting domestic technological progress and industrial upgrading (Sang Baichuan, 2021), and creating a business environment with fair competition (Weigh , 2018), move up the global value chain and promote the internationalization of the RMB (Dong Zhiyong and Li Chengming, 2020) and reduce institutional friction with developed countries (Quan Yi, 2023) . Since the construction of China’s Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2013, China has entered a historical stage of building a new open economic system and building a new pattern of comprehensive opening up (Weighing, 2018 ) .
1.2 The development of the world economy is in a period of turbulence and change.
The rise of anti-globalization thoughts, some countries believe in trade hegemony and implement trade protection policies, which has led to major challenges to economic and trade globalization (Yu Miaojie, 2018). The global industrial chain and supply chain have shrunk, and countries are paying more and more attention to ideology in the supply chain, and are more and more emphasizing national security and national interests (Zhang Yansheng, 2022). With the rising trend of trade protectionism, the global value chain, industrial chain, and supply chain are accelerating the reorganization, and the world economy is in a period of deep adjustment (Zhang Erzhen and Dai Xiang, 2022). At the same time, facing complex domestic and international situations and multiple real challenges, the international environment has entered an “era of uncertainty”, characterized by prominent diversity and complexity (Evelyn Goh, 2022). Currently, trade protectionism and anti-globalization are prevalent in developed countries. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism pose a threat to world development (von Delian, 2021). The risks of global economic inflation and deflation coexist. The unstable monetary policy of developed economies may harm emerging markets and developing countries (Zhang Yuyan, 2022). The United States has adopted a series of trade sanctions and technological sanctions to attempt to promote the “de-Sinicization” of the global supply chain (Xu Jie, 2021 ).
1.3 China’s reform and opening up has entered a new historical stage.
After the reform and opening up, China’s opening up to the outside world has gone through three stages: “partial opening up – comprehensive opening up – institutional opening up” (Cui Qingbo et al., 2023 ) , giving play to the “latecomer advantage” of developing countries (Lin Yifu, 2018 ) . Between 1978 and 2001, reform and opening up belonged to the stage of preliminary exploration and the formation of the basic pattern of opening up to the outside world (Quanheng, 2018), and the “extensive” approach emphasized quantitative opening up (Yu Miaojie, 2018). The main task was to reform the closed planned economic system and join the international division of labor system and the world economic cycle (Wang Yuesheng et al., 2021). Between 2001 and 2012, China joined the WTO and entered the stage of rule-based and all-round opening up from the previous policy-based, regional and partial opening up (Wang Yuesheng et al., 2021). From 2012 to the present, the policy orientation has evolved from expanding opening up to institutional opening up , the spatial pattern has evolved from opening up first in the east to coordinated opening up between the east and the west, and the main functions have expanded from single to complex (Cui Qingbo et al., 2023 ).
1.4 Building a new system of open economy at a higher level is the core task of institutional opening-up .
Institutional heterogeneity has become a severe challenge for China to build an open world economy. Reducing institutional friction with developed countries through institutional opening-up is the basic essence of China’s construction of a new system of open economy at a higher level (Quan Yi, 2023 ). The core of the economic system level is institutional opening-up and building a new system of open economy at a higher level (Sang Baichuan, 2022 ) . To achieve institutional opening-up, we should create a free and open business environment in accordance with the standards of developed economies in terms of economic and trade rules, government regulations, quality standards and regulatory systems, and build a new system of open economy at a higher level (Quan Yi, 2023 ) . Historically, from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee proposing “developing an open economy”, to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposing “building a new system of open economy”, to the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposing “building a new system of open economy at a higher level”, constantly raising China’s opening-up to a new and higher level has always been the historical main line of China’s opening-up level, field and scope to a higher level (Nie Xinwei, 2022 ) . Building a new open economic system requires absorbing the beneficial elements of foreign production relations and superstructure, so as to reform China’s economic system into a new open economic system that effectively promotes the development of productivity (Pei Changhong, 2022 ) .
2. Theoretical connotation of institutional opening
2.1 About the connotation and extension of institutional openness .
Regarding the connotation of institutional openness , experts and scholars may compare “within the border” to “border” (Cui Weijie, 2020 ), ” quality ” to ” quantity ” (Wang Yuesheng et al., 2021), and ” latitude ” to “longitude” ( Shen Guobing, 2022), “level” versus “scope” (Weighing, 2018), etc. emphasize further docking high-standard international rules, or improving the resilience and safety level of China’s industrial chain ( Dai Xiang and Zhang Erzhen, 2 023), Improving the new open economic system (Gu Xueming, 2023 ) , enhancing the stability of openness (Quan Yi, 2022), transforming government functions (Sheng Bin and Li Feng, 2022) and other specific perspectives will emphasize the different characteristics of institutional openness .
2.2 Theoretical research on institutional openness by international academic circles .
Theoretical research on institutional construction and institutional interaction by foreign scholars is mainly reflected in the fields of international institutional theory, international public goods theory, global economic governance theory, open economy theory, etc. Modern international institutional theory can be traced back to Keohane ‘s research. Keohane regarded institutions as a solution to the collective behavior dilemma faced by countries. Institutions reduce transaction costs, increase the value of good reputation, and determine standards. Gilpin emphasized that the globalization of the world economy requires institutional cooperation among major economies. The international public goods theory believes that international public goods are those that can benefit all countries and citizens and have international public welfare and non-discriminatory characteristics. The hegemonic stability theory developed by Kindleberger emphasizes that a stable world order is based on public goods provided by hegemonic countries ( Memedovic et al., 2008). The global economic governance theory points out that the construction of global institutions is established through the actions and agreements of major actors in the global system. Global governance is a macro system for managing public affairs worldwide ( Dingwerth and Pattberg , 2006). Research has been conducted on the global value chain theory, international trade theory, and international investment theory in the open economy theory. For example, the global value chain theory emphasizes the governance of value chains through value chain relationships ( Gereffi et al., 2005).
3 .Specific paths to steadily expand institutional opening-up
3.1 Connect with international economic and trade rules and strengthen international regulatory cooperation.
Promoting new economic globalization with institutional opening-up . Giving equal weight to the import and export of open systems is a summary of China’s long-term experience in participating in international economic and trade practices (Liang Dan and Chen Chen, 2023 ). China has achieved fruitful results in connecting with international economic and trade rules. In the past decade, the number of free trade agreements signed by China has increased from 10 to 19, the content of free trade agreements has become increasingly rich, and the level of openness in multiple fields has continued to improve (Zhao Jinping, 2022). Promoting international regulatory cooperation can improve the efficiency and benefits of international trade (Zhao Longyue, 2022). China should also accelerate internal and external linkages in connecting with international economic and trade rules, actively participate in the reconstruction of a new round of international economic and trade rules, and enhance the leadership of rules and the right to create topics (Jin Ruiting and Yuan Qian, 2021).
The main platforms for international regulatory cooperation include the multilateral trade system framework represented by the WTO and GATT (Dong Yan, 2014) and regional trade agreements represented by USMCA and CPTPP (Guo Chengcheng, 2022), which together have become the main paths to promote international regulatory cooperation and exchanges. The launch of regulatory cooperation in new large-scale free trade agreements and the setting of rules have obvious traces of European and American dominance, and developed countries such as Europe and the United States intend to continue to lead the formulation of global rules (Hu Meiling, 2020). China promotes international regulatory cooperation among countries in the world through the “Belt and Road” initiative (Jiang Zhida, 2016), multilateral agreement negotiations under the WTO (Zhang Lei and Lu Yicong, 2023), and actively promotes international regulatory cooperation in the fields of digital trade (Shao Jun and Yang Danhui, 2021), cross-border data factor flow (Chen Yongmei and Zhang Jiao, 2017), e-commerce (Liu Bin, 2022) and trade and investment facilitation.
3.2. Build high-standard pilot free trade zones (ports) and create a new high ground for institutional opening .
Building high-standard pilot free trade zones and high-level free trade ports is a “test field” for China’s institutional and mechanism innovation (Zhang Na, 2022). The significance of the experiment lies in the comprehensive promotion after success (Zhang Youwen, 2014). Using free trade zones and ports as test platforms, stress testing and accumulation of risk prevention and control (Zhao Jinping, 2022) have taken the lead in forming a mature and advanced institutional system in China, which can be promoted internationally through bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms (Yuan Sha, 2023). Promotion can be promoted nationwide from two dimensions: in terms of time and space: in terms of time, replication and promotion can be gradually promoted according to the principle of starting with the easy and then the difficult; in terms of space, replication and promotion should be carried out according to the regional advantages of various places and combined with the development strategies of various places (Yin Hua and Gao Weihe, 2017). At the same time, through the reform of the free trade zone system and mechanism, we will further improve trade facilitation, reduce trade costs, promote industrial agglomeration, talent agglomeration, and technology accumulation with a higher level of trade, break down institutional barriers, and promote high-quality development of trade, foreign investment, outward investment, logistics, financial services, foreign exchange settlement, and multimodal transport (Yao Shujie, 2022).
3.3 Promote the high-quality development of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” and build an international integration platform for institutional openness .
The Belt and Road is connected to the free trade pilot zones internally and the high-level free trade zone network negotiations externally (Wang Yabei and Huang Shengqiang, 2022), providing an opportunity for the integration and expansion of institutional openness . The “Belt and Road” initiative is China’s first systematic initiative to actively participate in the global governance system (Wang Mingguo, 2015), and it is constantly interconnected and interconnected, as well as the rule-oriented and policy coordination under domestic opening (Gao Lingyun and Su Qingyi, 2015), promoting the construction of a set of economic and trade rules that are more suitable for the vast majority of developing countries and emerging economies (Li Dan and Cui Riming, 2015), and actively and effectively realizing the “import and export” of rules and other systems (Dai Xiang and Zhang Erzhen, 2019).
3.4 Build a global network of high-standard free trade zones and an international promotion platform for institutional openness .
The free trade zone network is based on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, and outlines a policy network and a gravity chain network with factor contract market policies, industrial policies, trade policies, welfare policies and risk management policies ( Wang Jianghang et al ., 2021). Developed countries such as Europe and the United States are leading large-scale free trade agreements, setting international rules and coordinating international regulations (Hu Meiling, 2020). China has initially formed a free trade zone network based on East Asian countries and radiating to a large area of the world, which has played a positive role in reducing trade and investment barriers, alleviating policy uncertainty, promoting trade expansion and upgrading the industrial chain (Wang Jun and Wang Cong, 2022). In some of China’s advantageous areas, we should summarize experience as soon as possible, participate in the formulation of new rules for international economic and trade cooperation or new standards for industrial development, contribute “Chinese wisdom”, and put forward “Chinese issues” and “Chinese solutions” (Yin Chen et al., 2019).
4. Steadily expand important areas of institutional opening-up
4.1 As far as the trade field is concerned, China’s trade facilitation has made major breakthroughs, but the opening up of the service industry still needs to be further deepened ( Li Feng, 2023 ) .
The opening of the service industry should further relax the entry threshold for foreign investment in the service industry, open domestic elecommunications, postal and other service industries to social capital, accelerate the establishment of a negative list management system for cross-border service trade, and formulate and implement a national negative list for cross-border service trade (Zhang Zhikui , 2021). To promote a higher level of opening up, the first is to build an international trade power, and the second is to improve the quality of two-way investment (Sang Baichuan, 2022). Foreign trade and foreign investment are two important indicators of an open economy. Foreign trade and cross-border investment are closely related and promote each other (Yao Shujie, 2022). Promote diversified and balanced trade and investment opening with an integrated market-driven mechanism, and promote the construction of domestic and foreign trade integration platforms and trade digitalization (Shen Guobing, 2022).
4.2 In terms of utilizing foreign capital, China should continue to expand the scope of foreign capital access, improve the regulatory system , and provide a more fair and efficient investment environment for foreign capital (Wei Hao et al., 2022) .
To better utilize foreign capital, it is necessary to update and expand the Foreign Trade Law, establish legal frameworks for service models such as cross-border provision, overseas consumption, commercial presence and movement of natural persons, promote the balanced development of “bringing in” and “going out” through investment liberalization and facilitation, and promote the optimal allocation of domestic and foreign resources (Quan Yi, 2022). At the same time, expand the scope of foreign capital access, improve the regulatory system, provide a more fair and efficient investment environment for foreign capital, further improve the level of openness and market supervision of foreign capital in China, and improve the national security review system for foreign investment (Wei Hao et al., 2022).
4.3 In the process of financial opening, our country should adhere to the basic principles of reciprocal opening, progressive opening and bottom-line thinking (Jia Genliang and He Zengping, 2019).
An increase in financial openness is conducive to promoting the rapid growth of industrial output value, that is, the income effect of financial openness is greater than the substitution effect, and has a significant role in accelerating the industrialization process (Chen Shijin et al., 2021). China faces challenges such as lagging behind and incompleteness in aligning with international high-standard financial rules, formulating financial regulations, implementing internationally accepted management, and opening up financial standards (Zhang Fangbo, 2023), including reforming domestic financial regulations and improving financial supervision to reduce financial risks. The overall risks in opening up and provide guarantee for subsequent in-depth opening up (Zhang Fangbo, 2023). At the same time, attention should be paid to the construction of the international financial and monetary system and a new international financial system that is more inclusive, fair and diversified (Wang Shuguang and Wang Bin, 2023 ) .
4.4 In terms of innovation , the institutional dividends released by comprehensive innovation reform are crucial to economic growth and high-quality development of enterprises in the new era (Fu Kui and Zhang Jie, 2022).
Promoting institutional and mechanism reforms, stimulating innovation vitality, and providing institutional guarantees to adapt to the requirements of innovation-driven development are important supports for China to enter the ranks of innovative countries (Wang Yongjin and Feng Xiao, 2018). Institutional dividends can be released through institutional and mechanism innovation reforms (Fu Kui and Zhang Jie, 2022), and expanding institutional openness can improve the level of innovation and R&D of enterprises (Wang Xiaosong and Chang Yuan, 2023 ). The practice of science and technology award system reform is of great value in evaluating the laws of generating high-quality innovative achievements and improving institutional arrangements, which is helpful to cultivate innovation source capabilities and promote high-quality innovation development (Li Qiushi et al., 2022).
B. Existing representative achievements and viewpoints have room for further exploration, development or breakthrough.
1. In terms of theoretical research, existing literature focuses on the objective needs and economic value of steadily expanding institutional opening-up , but lacks research on its global connotation and strategic significance .
This project will take the steady expansion of institutional opening-up as a strategic measure to resolve the core contradiction between China’s development and the world’s development, and take the unblocking of domestic and international dual circulation and the construction of a new open economic system at a higher level as the starting point to study how China can play a leading role in global economic governance by steadily expanding institutional opening-up .
2. In terms of specific path research, existing literature covers more institutional open platforms, but lacks research on the functional positioning of these platforms themselves and the synergistic relationship between the platforms.
This project will steadily expand the experimentation, integration and promotion of institutional openness around the world as the core clue, coordinate the domestic and international situations, examine the functional positioning, development prospects and linkage relationship of different open platforms, and study and analyze the institutional open paths of “free trade zones (ports)”, “the Belt and Road Initiative” and “free trade networks”.
3. In terms of research in key areas, existing literature focuses on trade, and literature that directly explains institutional openness in investment, finance, and innovation is relatively scarce.
Existing research mainly focuses on marginal research between institutional openness and different fields. This topic combines the specific path of expanding institutional openness , systematically and in-depth studies the institutional barriers in the four fields of trade, investment, finance, and innovation, and proposes scientific response measures and policy recommendations through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.
4. In terms of policy guarantee research, existing literature pays more attention to security issues, but has not yet formed a scientific guarantee system, and research on the rule of law, mechanism, talent, and effectiveness is insufficient.
This project aims to build a multi-dimensional policy guarantee system from five dimensions: mechanism, security, rule of law, talent, and effectiveness, targeting major issues such as the institutional and mechanism obstacles, legal environment defects, lack of international talent, increased systemic risks, and lack of effectiveness system in the steady expansion of institutional opening-up.
C. Unique academic value, application value and social significance
1. Academic value of this topic
1.1 Accurately grasp the connotation and extension of institutional opening-up .
This topic is guided by the theory of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era on steadily expanding institutional opening-up . Based on the practical experience of institutional opening-up at home and abroad , it explores the historical background, historical logic and practical basis of institutional opening-up , and accurately grasps the connotation and extension of institutional opening-up .
1.2 Summarize the process and experience of institutional opening-up of major economies in the world.
This topic provides reference and lessons for China to steadily expand institutional opening-up by sorting out the experience and rules of institutional opening-up of developed economies such as the United States and the European Union and developing countries such as Brazil and India .
1.3 In-depth exploration of the global significance of steadily expanding institutional opening-up .
This topic explores the global significance of steadily expanding institutional opening-up from four dimensions: improving the theoretical system of global governance, solving the problem of global development imbalance, sharing China’s experience in institutional opening-up , and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind . This topic promotes global governance in a more just and reasonable direction through institutional opening-up .
1.4 The proposal to coordinate international and domestic rules provides a new perspective for understanding institutional opening-up .
Connecting with high-standard international rules is a common understanding of institutional opening-up . This topic proposes that we should adjust domestic rules according to high-standard international rules, and elevate domestic rules to international rules based on domestic rules and experience. By domesticating international rules and internationalizing domestic rules, we can coordinate international and domestic rules and enhance China’s institutional discourse power.
2. Application value of this topic
2.1 From the dual perspectives of domestic and international , this paper proposes a strategic path for steadily expanding institutional opening -up , which includes coordinating domestic and international rules, promoting international regulatory cooperation, leading the reform and construction of the global governance system, and promoting the modernization of the national governance system capabilities. This paper provides a decision-making reference for steadily expanding institutional opening-up .
2.2 Opening in key areas .
This topic proposes to steadily expand the institutional opening in the four key areas of trade, investment, finance, and innovation , and connect it with the major strategy of the new development pattern of “dual circulation”. Through institutional and mechanism reforms in key areas, the quality of international circulation will be improved, and the domestic and international circulations will be unblocked, providing strong support for the construction of a new development pattern of “dual circulation”.
2.3 Through the internal and external linkage of institutional opening, we will help lead a new round of economic globalization.
This project explores feasible paths for the experimentation, integration and promotion of institutional public products through platforms such as the Pilot Free Trade Zone (Hong Kong), the Belt and Road Initiative, and the high-standard free trade zone network , and builds a systematic institutional integration innovation mechanism that is coordinated from top to bottom, integrated, precise and efficient , and proposes a “Chinese solution” for the reform and construction of the global governance system, helping China lead a new round of economic globalization with the results of institutional opening .
2.4 Coordinate opening up and security to provide policy guarantees for the steady expansion of institutional opening up .
Institutional opening up should be carried out efficiently under the premise of ensuring security. This topic systematically constructs a guarantee system for the steady expansion of institutional opening up from five dimensions: mechanism guarantee, security guarantee, rule of law guarantee, talent guarantee and effectiveness guarantee , taking into account both the efficiency and security of opening up.
3. Social Significance of This Topic
3.1 Steadily expanding institutional opening-up can promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Steadily expanding institutional opening-up can solve the problems faced by unbalanced globalization, such as unbalanced economic development, unbalanced resource consumption, and unbalanced rules and systems. By sharing China’s experience in institutional opening-up , it can provide institutional public products to the international community and ultimately promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
3.2 The modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity will create a good domestic environment for opening up to the outside world. This topic places national governance in the context of opening up to the outside world, and promotes the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity from the aspects of improving macroeconomic governance, continuously optimizing the business environment, and building a solid legal foundation for institutional opening up , so as to empower the high-quality development of opening up to the outside world.
3.3 Through institutional opening up in the field of innovation , we will create an innovation environment with international competitiveness.
Innovation is an important part of domestic institutional reform and foreign cooperation and exchange. This project explores the steady expansion of institutional opening up in the field of innovation from the perspectives of institutional reform in the field of science and technology, improving the independent innovation capabilities of enterprises, and improving the international innovation market system, and provides driving force and guarantee for the high-quality development of investment, trade, and finance.
3.4 Accelerate the construction of international governance disciplines and accelerate the cultivation of comprehensive, compound, and high -end international governance talents.
Steadily expanding institutional openness and actively participating in global governance urgently requires the cultivation of comprehensive, compound, and high-end international governance talents. This topic proposes to accelerate the cultivation of international governance talents from the perspectives of strengthening the construction of international governance disciplines, innovating talent training concepts and models, and making up for the shortcomings in talent training.