Raise trade practices to global standards, deputy says

Huang Maoxing, a deputy to China's National People's Congress from Fujian province, has called for greater efforts to align domestic economic and trade practices with global standards, laying a solid foundation for a new open economic system.

Huang, who is also vice-president of the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences in Fuzhou, has submitted suggestions to the top legislature's annual session every year since 2018.

One of his suggestions this year focuses on fostering institutional innovations to develop systems that align with international rules and standards, advancing higher-level opening-up.

"In the face of an increasingly complex international environment, China needs to focus on key areas and comprehensively enhance its adaptability and capabilities to meet international trade and economic rules and standards," he said.

Huang stressed the need for greater coordination and an efficient collaborative management system to ensure the orderly implementation and enforcement of reforms.

He also called for stronger legal safeguards to support alignment with high-standard global economic and trade rules.

Fujian has long served as a key hub for China's opening-up policies. The Xiamen Special Economic Zone, one of four such zones in the country, remains at the forefront of reform.

During an inspection tour of Fujian in October, President Xi Jinping urged the province to adapt to global changes and steadily advance institutional opening-up, producing more achievements in institutional innovation to support China's broader push for high-level opening-up.

Huang said further reforms should focus on streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services to foster a level playing field.

Strengthening intellectual property rights protection is also crucial to safeguarding innovation, he said.

He proposed creating new models for international trade and economic cooperation, particularly by using digital technology to enhance trade facilitation.

Huang also emphasized the need to expand markets in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and other emerging economies to build a more open and diverse international trade landscape.

He called for stronger international production capacity cooperation and encouraged competitive domestic industries to expand overseas, deepening the integration of global industrial, supply and value chains.