China is expected to expand imports from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative as part of its broader push for high-standard opening-up, said Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“Considering the current international situation, it is important for China to open up its market wider to the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, apart from strengthening outbound investment into those economies in sectors like infrastructure construction,” said Zhang.

Proposed by China, the BRI has made substantial progress since it was put forward in 2013, injecting new growth impetus into the global economy.

This year's Government Work Report said two-way trade between China and other BRI countries increased at an annual rate of 13.4 per cent over the past five years, and exchanges and cooperation between China and these countries registered steady progress in a wide range of areas. Over the past five years, China has remained committed to achieving shared growth through dialogue and collaboration, observed market principles and international rules, and implemented a number of projects to boost connectivity and industrial capacity cooperation, according to the report.

Zhang said China is expected to expand market access for products from the economies participating in the BRI through multiple measures, which he suggested may include lowering tariffs or even granting zero tariff treatment for some products, reducing non-tariff market barriers and revising related import quota systems. The BRI has attracted the participation of over three-fourths of countries in the world and 32 international organisations, according to China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

“Greater competition in the domestic market introduced by such increases in market openness will give better play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, as well as the functions of the government,” Zhang said. “Under current circumstances, China must focus on its own agendas and remain committed to deepening reform and expanding high-level opening-up,” he added. As China advances institutional opening-up, the country ’s investment environment will continue to improve and its protection of intellectual property rights will be strengthened, and that will make the country more attractive to foreign investors seeking better development, especially funds flowing into high-end industries, he said.