On August 1, Ambassador Xiao Qian published an article entitled “Chinese Modernization will Benefit Australia and the World”on the Australian Financial Review. The full text is as follows:

From July 15 to 18, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened its third plenary session. Held at a pivotal moment for China's development, this plenary session clearly outlined the overall goal of further deepening comprehensive reforms, emphasizing that China will continue to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernize China’s system and capacity for governance. By 2035, China will have finished building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects, generally modernized our system and capacity for governance, and basically realized socialist modernization. I am pleased to note that many friends in Australia have shown keen interests in the third plenary session. I would like to share my understanding of the session through three key points. 

First, deepening reform comprehensively. This plenary session outlined a roadmap and timetable for reforms, presenting over 300 major initiatives across 14 key areas, including democracy, the rule of law, culture, society, ecology, and people's livelihoods. It placed particular emphasis on changes in systems and mechanisms, strategic and overarching reforms, and the spearhead role of economic structural improvements. It set a deadline for completing these reform tasks within five years, by the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. This demonstrates China's confidence and determination to advance national modernization through further comprehensive reforms, providing strong momentum and institutional guarantee for the country’s sustainable development, and will inject precious certainty and positive energy into a world of turbulence and volatility. 

Second, high-level opening-up. The session highlighted that China will continue to promote reform through opening-up, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and steadily expand institutional openness. The goal is to create a transparent, stable, and predictable institutional environment, fostering a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized. It also aims to protect the rights and interests of foreign investors in accordance with the law, and promote orderly expansion in education, culture, healthcare, and other fields. The session stressed ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in terms of access to factors of production, license application, standards setting, and government procurement, etc. It also aims to optimize the regional opening-up layout by enhancing the openness of central and western regions, thereby establishing a comprehensive opening-up framework. These initiatives demonstrate China’s commitment to deepening and broadening openness through promoting “dual circulation” whereby domestic and foreign markets promote each other, creating new advantages for a higher-level open economy, and providing more cooperation opportunities for foreign enterprises, including those from Australia. 

Third, high-quality development, which is the primary task in building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. The session focused on improving institutions and mechanisms conducive to promoting high-quality development, shaping new drivers and advantages for development, and making comprehensive plans for developing new quality productive forces characterized by high-tech, high efficiency, and high quality. The session proposed boosting institutional supply for new areas and arenas, ensuring funding increases for industries of the future, upgrading the traditional industries with elevated national standards, fostering deep integration between the real economy and the digital economy, building mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation, and advancing integrated reforms in the systems and mechanisms for education, science, technology, and talent. As China's economy shifts from high-speed growth to high-quality development, it is expected to usher in a new round of long-term growth for both itself and the world, helping to invigorate the global economy, sharing development opportunities with countries around the world and create a brighter future together.  

The "flower" of Chinese modernization blooms in China, but the "fruit" it yields will benefit Australia and beyond. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently said that China was Australia's largest trading partner and its development had brought new development opportunities for Australia. Chinese modernization and a new system for a higher-level open economy will seamlessly connect China's super-large market with Australia's development plan, better transforming the two countries’ complementary advantages into robust common development. The development of China's new quality productive forces aligns perfectly with the concept of Australia's "Future Made in Australia" plan. There is enormous potential for bilateral cooperation in emerging sectors such as green development and digital economy. Close cooperation between the two countries will help maintain the stability and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains, injecting more momentum into the sustained economic recovery of both nations, the region, and the world. Under the new situation, China and Australia can further consolidate cooperation in traditional fields such as agriculture and minerals, explore new cooperation opportunities in trade, investment and innovation, and cultivate potential growth points for cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and life sciences. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's state visit to Australia and the establishment of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Not long ago, Premier Li Qiang paid a successful visit to Australia. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is ready to work together with Australia to deliver on the strategic consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, enhance political mutual trust, properly manage differences, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, share development opportunities, and jointly build an even better and more fruitful next decade for the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.