Blue Book of Opening-up: Annual Report on Beijing Opening-up Development (2021) shows that a new paradigm of open development is taking shape in Beijing with the utilization of foreign investment gradually shifting from quantity to quality.

According to the Blue Book, the total scale of actual foreign investment utilization in Beijing over the past 40 years of reform and opening up has increased year by year. From 2015 to 2020, the total scale of actual foreign investment utilization in Beijing stood at around USD 96 billion, accounting for 50 percent of the total since the beginning of the reform and opening up, and the introduction of foreign investment has continued to grow at a steady pace.

The development of China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone is a crucial part of Beijing's opening up to the outside world in the new era. According to the Blue Book, in order to attract high-quality foreign direct investment and continue to improve the attractiveness of projects in the pilot zone, Beijing will have to focus key projects on high-end industries such as big health and business services while accelerating the formation of high-end industrial clusters and harnessing the positive effects of agglomeration. The consequence is a gradual shift in Beijing's foreign investment utilization from quantity to quality.

Beijing has adopted a series of significant initiatives in response to changes of the world economy. In recent years, Beijing has combined "going global" and "bringing in" to accelerate connectivity and create a more open business environment. The development of China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Belt and Road Initiative have promoted economic exchanges between Beijing and countries and regions along the Belt and Road, spurring on the development of Beijing's outbound investment in a significant way.

(Source: China News)