Global Times: Opening up new prospects amid changing circumstances

BEIJING, Oct. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With a year-on-year growth rate of 5.2 percent, China's economy has maintained an overall stable development trajectory with steady progress in the first three quarters of this year.

This hard-won rate of 5.2 percent has demonstrated the stability and resilience of the Chinese economy, which enhances the country's confidence and resolve to overcome difficulties. And the new development philosophy plays a key role in this.

The tide of the times is surging, outlining the magnificent trajectory of China's economy. As global changes unseen in a century are rapidly evolving and challenges from external headwinds and internal transitions are interwoven, a profound shift in mindset is now shaping the future of China's economy with formidable strength.

President Xi Jinping said that the China of today stands at a new historical starting point in development. "In light of development requirements in the new stage, we need to stick to a problem-oriented approach so that we can implement the new development philosophy with even greater precision. We need to effectively address the issues relating to unbalanced and insufficient development in order to make our development high-quality," Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said, according to Qiushi Journal.

The new development philosophy features innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, is the "ballast stone" and "power source" for the Chinese economic ship to create new opportunities in crises and open up new prospects in changing circumstances, and has demonstrated strong vitality and resilience on the path of high-quality development.

The more magnificent the journey, the more it requires the strength of stewardship.

High-quality development is an intrinsic requirement of Chinese modernization. Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Economy, and by fully, accurately and comprehensively implementing the new development philosophy and accelerating the building of a new development paradigm, China's economy will surely stride forward on the path of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and safer development.

Innovation

In today's world, whoever holds the leading spot of scientific and technological innovation and takes the first step in scientific and technological innovation will seize the initiative and gain an advantage. The key to Chinese modernization lies in scientific and technological modernization. China must leverage scientific and technological innovation, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions and strengthen the support capacity of the modern industrial system for high-quality development.

The breakthrough in chip technology epitomizes how sci-tech innovation, as a pivotal variable, is accelerating its transformation into the "largest increment" for high-quality development.

In a lab of Chinese chipmaker New Sonic Technologies in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, technicians are holding their breath and intently watching the waveforms jumping on the test system. They're working on the high-end radio frequency (RF) filter - a "micron-level device" crucial for 5G communications and smart terminals.

"On a film just a few microns thick, we engrave tracks that can precisely guide sound waves while ensuring stability under extreme conditions," the company's founder Zou Jie said. The company started research and development (R&D) on the high-end RF filter technology four years ago, at a time when the device were almost 100 percent relying on imports.

The breakthrough came from technological self-reliance and self-improvement. Every year, the company invests over 100 million yuan ($14.1 million) in R&D. Simulation, tape-out, testing, analysis - the entire laboratory erupts in excitement when the self-developed filter surpasses foreign peers in multiple core performance metrics.

The breakthrough also is attributed to the company's close collaboration with upstream wafer fabs and downstream packaging plants, during which they jointly process debugging and collaborative structural optimization. Now, this hard-won "Chinese chip" has been widely adopted by leading smartphone and tablet brands, ranking among the top in domestic market shipments.

A strong industrial sector also makes a strong economy. The modern industrial system forms the material and technological foundation of a modern nation, while its innovation ecosystem serves as the core engine. While traditional industries are accelerating their transition toward high-end, smart, and green development, China's emerging and future industries are also flourishing and expanding vigorously. The new landscape has significantly enhanced the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.

Today, China invests over 3.6 trillion yuan in R&D, maintaining its position as the world's second-largest R&D spender. The country has climbed to the 10th place in the Global Innovation Index and is now home to more than 140,000 specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises that produce new and unique products.

Greenness

The green and low-carbon transition represents the trend of our times, while green development defines the undertone of high-quality development. The fundamental approach to achieving sustainable growth is to establish an economic system that promotes green and low-carbon development and foster a comprehensive green transformation in economic and social development.

In the Kubuqi Desert of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, millions of photovoltaic panels converge into a "sea of energy." The green electricity generated by the "sea," which is transmitted through ultra-high-voltage power grids across mountains and rivers, lights up millions of homes in eastern city clusters thousands of kilometers away.

China's photovoltaic industry suffered a big hit several years ago due to a sudden international trade barrier, which froze the industry with orders plummeting and inventories soaring.

Recalling the situation, Liu Qiang, general manager of photovoltaic module producer Eging PV, said that "either perish in adversity or be reborn under pressure."

Chinese photovoltaic industry has obviously chosen the latter and embarked a journey of "turning crisis into opportunity." The development was not only about survival but also a pressing self-evolution driven by the urgent need for sustainable development.

For example, with regards to upstream, polysilicon producers in western China have been leveraging abundant green electricity resources and technological innovation to minimize energy consumption in production, so as to build green and low-cost competitive advantages from the source.

In midstream, solar panel manufacturers in eastern China have been joining force to collaboratively make breakthrough in next-generation high-efficiency battery technology. Downstream players have also expanded the use of green energy as a way to significantly reduce energy costs for businesses.

The result of this "stress test" is very impressive. To date, China's photovoltaic industry chain has been reshaped through collaboration, gradually forming a multi-point supported and more resilient supply chain system. Meanwhile, a full set of technology, standard and service involving the industry has successfully expanded globally, becoming an oasis and lighthouse for sustainable development in the new era.

A flurry of data underscores this transformation. China now provides over 80 percent of the world's photovoltaic modules and 70 percent of wind power equipment. During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China's exports of wind and solar products cumulatively reduced carbon emissions for other countries by approximately 4.1 billion tons.

Openness

South China's Hainan Province opens a new window for the mutual promotion of China's dual circulation. The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) will officially launch an island-wide independent customs operation on December 18 this year.

"In the past, I had to wait for overseas purchases or find opportunities to go abroad to buy new cosmetic products. Now, I can simply purchase a ticket and fly to Hainan, where prices of those products are also cost effective," said Zhang Lu, a Chinese traveler who was shopping at the duty-free shop at the Haikou Meilan International Airport in Hainan.

Zhang's change in experience is a vivid footnote to how China activates its super-large domestic market through high-level opening-up. Hainan's duty-free policy represents a highly valuable institutional opening-up measure. The policy firmly "draws back" the massive outbound consumption power, playing a symphony of the new development paradigm. It also draws in more world-leading brands, driving prosperity across local tourism, hospitality, logistics, and a hundred other industries, while creating numerous job opportunities.

The trajectory of the FTP's development embodies the vision of a great nation. Facing headwinds and backlashes in economic globalization, China's door to opening-up will not close; it will only open wider. And a more open China will undoubtedly bring more opportunities to the world and, through exchanges with the world, shape greater resilience and vitality for its own high-quality development.

To date, China has completely eliminated foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, while opening-up in the service sector is advancing steadily. As of the end of June, the actual foreign investment utilized in China during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period has reached $708.73 billion and the country has established 22 free trade zones.

A series of pragmatic measures to expand opening-up have won widespread praise from the international community and the "vote with their feet" by multinational companies, who believe that "believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow."

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SOURCE Global Times