Qianjiang Evening News interviewed Yu Miaojie, deputy to the National People's Congress, member of the International Economic Association, deputy secretary of the CPC Committee and president of Liaoning University. The original text is reproduced as follows:
Yu Miaojie, deputy to the 14th National People's Congress. President of Liaoning University, Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University, Former Secretary of the CPC Committee of the National Academy of Development, Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education, Winner of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Outstanding Young Scientist of Beijing, Fellow of the United Nations Association of International Economics. He is one of the top 1% highly cited economists in the world's economics and management category, and the only Chinese scholar who has won the "Royal Prize in Economics" so far. He is a member of the Economic and Trade Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Commerce, and a director of the "Sino-US Research Think Tank Alliance" of the Ministry of Finance.
The government work report proposes to expand high-level opening up and build a high-level open and strong province. Since the reform and opening up, Zhejiang has grown step by step from a small resource province to a large foreign trade province and an open province. This reporter interviewed Yu Miaojie, president of Liaoning University and distinguished professor of liberal arts at Peking University.
Vigorously develop trade in services, digital trade, and green trade in larger scale.
Reporter: How to combine the actual situation of Zhejiang to promote high-quality economic development with high-level opening up to the outside world?
Yu Miaojie: At present, my country is facing an extremely complex international environment and has a difficult task of reform and development. In the medium to long term, China, like other countries, is also facing the challenge of the rise of anti-globalization forces. In the face of such a situation, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic large cycle as the main body and the domestic and international double cycle promoting each other, so as to achieve a high level of opening up to the outside world. This is also the due meaning of promoting high-quality development.
On the one hand, openness and development must have a strong domestic economic cycle system and a stable basic foundation; on the other hand, openness and development must also face the world and enhance the level and class with the world economy, which depends on the strong support of the international cycle. In recent years, relying on the “Belt and Road” initiative to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative, Zhejiang has actively promoted high-level opening up to the outside world, continuously strengthened its position as a dual-cycle strategic hub, and built Ningbo Zhoushan Port and other trade hubs linking the world. In the next step, Zhejiang should innovate the form of attracting foreign investment, vigorously develop service trade, green trade, and digital trade, create effective demand with high-quality supply, and promote high-quality economic development. In terms of service trade, Zhejiang can make full use of the advantages of natural and human resources to attract foreigners to Zhejiang for tourism, investment, industrial development, etc.; In terms of digital trade, Zhejiang can give full play to the advantages of the digital economy, through holding international exhibitions such as the Global Digital trade Fair, to develop the exhibition economy and build a global digital trade highland; in terms of green trade, Zhejiang must adhere to innovation as the driving force, promote industrial upgrading, continuously improve the scientific and technological content and technological level, and strengthen the new competitive advantages of green foreign trade.
Be capable of undertaking the big market with a large platform.
Reporter: The Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee proposed to expand high-level opening up to the outside world and build a high-energy level open strong province, guided by the improvement of the level of open platforms. What suggestions do you have for this?
Yu Miaojie: In the pattern of opening up to the outside world, platforms are indispensable. As a province that is open to the outside world, Zhejiang has always been exploring the creation of high-energy platforms. For example, the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone has been established for more than 7 years, continuously promoting the construction of the entire oil and gas industry chain, and has now built an important national energy security base.
Larger platforms undertake larger markets. In the process of building a high-energy level open and strong province, Zhejiang will inevitably undertake larger domestic and international markets, so improving the platform level is a key measure. I have the following two suggestions for this:
One is to continuously deepen the reform of institutional mechanisms, take the lead in improving procurement trade methods, cross-border e-commerce rules, etc., continuously reduce trade costs, break down trade barriers, promote regional trade cooperation, and make greater contributions to building a new development pattern.
Second, unswervingly promote the high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road". Zhejiang should fully leverage the role of international transportation hubs such as Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Jinhua (Yiwu), promote cooperation with countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and focus on expanding markets in emerging industrialized countries, BRICS countries, and SCO countries, providing a platform for the development of capital intensive and technology intensive industries.
Deepen the promotion of institutional opening up in a deeper level.
Reporter: Institutional opening up is an important part of promoting high-level opening up to the outside world. How should Zhejiang continue to make efforts?
Yu Miaojie: Institutional opening-up is a breakthrough based on the original commodity flow opening-up and factor flow opening-up, and is a "soft lever" to promote high-level opening-up to the outside world. In recent years, Zhejiang has implemented the negative list system for foreign investment, established and improved a multi-party participation, flexible and efficient linkage attraction mechanism, and other measures to create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, international, and rule of law, making foreign investment in enterprises more secure and developing smoothly.
Meanwhile, Zhejiang still faces significant challenges in deepening its institutional opening-up. For example, there is still a phenomenon of passive adaptation to international rules, and when aligning with international high standard economic and trade rules, it is unable to leverage its own advantages. To move towards a high-energy level open and strong province, Zhejiang should fully exert its initiative and innovation, and deeply promote institutional opening up.
Specifically, Zhejiang should fully participate in the formulation of emerging international economic and trade rules, strive for more discourse and initiative in the formulation of management rules, systems, standards, and other aspects, and deeply integrate into the international economic system.