ABSTRACT
China’s opening up to the outside world since the early 1980s has fundamentally transformed China from a closed economy into an active and influential player in the global economy. This chapter argues that China’s open door policy started with a trial-and-error detour from its past and gradually evolved into a determining actor in the global political economy. China’s unprecedented global presence is welcomed by the world for its gigantic demand for overseas goods and services, which becomes an important stabiliser of global growth in particular, after the global financial crisis in 2008. World Trade Organization admission entrusted reformist leaders with a legitimate reason to deepen market reform and forge further integration into the global economy. According to the official documents, cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative encompasses 5 major areas: policy co-ordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds.
