More Dynamically Balanced International Payments in a New Round of High-level Opening-up Policies

China is adopting a strategy for a new round of high-level opening-up policies for its economy in a new era marked by the 40th anniversary of its reform program. In his keynote address at the APEC CEO Summit in 2017，President Xi Jinping announced that China would proactively increase imports，with an estimated US$24 trillion worth of goods imported over the next 15 years. This year China will kick off this stepped up import drive by hosting the China International Import Expo.  China will also attract $2 trillion in inbound direct investment，and make US$2 trillion of outbound direct investment over the next 15 years. From these strategic initiatives，China’s current and capital account can be expected to come much closer to a dynamic balance over the next few years，moving further away from their structural surpluses of the past. The coming few years could be a period of evolution for the balance of payments and renminbi internationalization.

During the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year，Liu He，a key adviser to President Xi Jinping，announced four areas of focus in which China would implement more important reforms: A greater opening of the financial services sector，the opening up of a wide range of manufacturing and service industries，the enhancement of protection of intellectual property rights，and a proactive effort to increase imports. He added that China would launch new policies ¡°beyond international expectations¡± to mark the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its reforms and opening-up program this year.

China’s decision to increase imports and further open up its domestic market clearly shows that the nation will continue promoting a global and open world order and facilitate the participation of developing countries in economic globalization. China is the world’s second largest importer，and a further opening up of China’s large domestic market would create large incremental demand and economic opportunities for exporters in many countries.