Recently, the University of International Business and Economics and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China) jointly released the Bluebook of Opening-up: Annual Report on Beijing Opening-up Development (2022) and the Bluebook of Beijing's Economy: Annual Report on Beijing's Platform Economy (2022). According to the reports, Beijing has made steady progress in promoting its opening-up and has entered a new phase of high-quality economic development and high-level opening-up. Thanks to the remarkable growth of its platform economy, particularly internet-based platform enterprises, the city has become one of the top cities in China in terms of the number and size of platform companies.

In 2021, Beijing's outbound investment saw its fastest growth in five years. The scale of foreign investment continued to expand while the revenue of foreign companies steadily grew. Additionally, there was a rapid increase in the number of newly-established foreign companies, and the source of investment became more diversified. The new generation of technology revolution fueled new trade forms. As highlighted in the Annual Report on Beijing Opening-up Development (2022), Beijing takes digital trade and technological innovation as the main directions, and the city is promoting the development of digital trade pilot zones, big data exchange, and regulations on cross-border data transfer. Furthermore, Beijing plans to release institutional dividends to form new advantages for cross-border e-commerce platforms to compete globally. With the acceleration of high-level opening up, the city is forming new advantages for international cooperation and competition. According to the report, the opening up of the service industry will further release service trade dividends. After the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) takes effect, it will bring new dynamics to the foreign trade sector for Beijing.

The analysis of the Annual Report on Beijing's Platform Economy shows that the city's platform economy has seized the major opportunities of the flourishing digital economy, and the growth of Beijing's platform economy is accelerating. The analysis also highlights the prominence of the platform enterprises in Beijing in the platform economy, with the Beijing being among China's top administrative divisions in terms of the number of platform enterprises and the size of the local platform industry. Beijing's unique advantages of scientific and technological innovation have led to a batch of comprehensive platforms providing services regarding science and technologies. In addition, the combination of "science and technologies + finance" has facilitated the growth of online financial platforms, contributing to the building of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (which are known as the "Two Zones"). Ahead of its counterparts in China, Beijing has noticed the regulatory issues arising from the development of the platform economy. The city has been proactive in establishing a regulatory system that balances the platform economy's innovative development and anti-monopoly supervision. This approach serves as a model for the platform economy and influences and guides other cities in this regard.

(Source: Beijing Daily)