On November 22, 2025, Mr. Wan Degang, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Sweden, published a signed article titled "China's High-Standard Opening Up Will Bring New Opportunities for China-Sweden Cooperation" on Nya Dagbladet. The full text is as follows:

Earlier this month, Sweden made its debut as the Guest Country of Honor at the Eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE). Under the theme of "Together, let's pioneer the possible", Sweden showcased its core strengths in innovation, research and development, sustainable development, and collaboration. Its presence has become one of the highlights at this year's CIIE, injecting new vitality into the 75th anniversary of China-Sweden diplomatic relations.

The CIIE serves as an important window for the world to observe Chinese modernization and its commitment to global common development. This year's CIIE is the first major economic diplomatic event hosted by China since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. It is a vivid demonstration of China's efforts to build an open world economy and promote common development of the world. The plenary session made important plans for promoting high-standard opening up and creating new horizons for mutually beneficial cooperation. This will inject fresh impetus into China's high-quality economic and social development.

Over the past five years, China has consistently advanced win-win cooperation through opening up. The negative list for foreign investment has been shortened to 29 items, and all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector have been removed. China applies zero tariffs to all products from all the least developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China, and is piloting higher-standard opening up measures in Hainan Free Trade Port and 22 Pilot Free Trade Zones. China has ranked among the world's top countries in both attracting foreign investment and making outbound investment for many consecutive years. China is the major trading partner of over 150 countries and regions, with total imports of goods and services exceeding $15 trillion. China's cumulative outbound investment has paid over $300 billion in taxes to host countries, created numerous jobs and helped advance local industrialization and modernization. High-standard opening up has become a great cause that benefits both China and the world.

In the next five years, China will respond to both its own needs and the world's expectations by pursuing a more proactive strategy of opening up, continuing to expand opening up at the institutional level, safeguarding the multilateral trading system, and promoting broader international economic flows. China will draw momentum from opening up to propel reform and development, share opportunities with the rest of the world, and promote common development. China will actively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, expand market access and open up more areas, particularly in the service sector, and unilaterally open up more sectors and regions. China will expand trade in intermediate goods and green trade, refine the negative list-based management system for cross-border trade, and take well-ordered steps to expand opening up in the domain of digital trade. China will continue to shorten the negative list for foreign investment, ensure both easy market access and accommodating business environments for foreign investors, and create an institutional environment that is transparent, stable, and predictable. China will strengthen strategic alignment with other countries, deepen practical cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, industrial development, and people-to-people exchanges, launch new cooperation initiatives across fields such as green development, AI, the digital economy, and health, and pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. I am confident that this new round of China's high-standard opening up measures will bring greater certainty and stability to the global economy and will create new opportunities for all countries, including Sweden.

It is encouraging to see that China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation has made substantial progress alongside China's opening up. China is Sweden's largest trading partner in Asia, while Sweden is China's largest trading partner in Northern Europe. Many Swedish companies have been active participants in China's reform and opening up and Chinese modernization. They have not only gained significant benefits but have also contributed positively to China's socio-economic development and its deeper integration into economic globalization. This year, China and Sweden resumed the Joint Committee Meeting on Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation, and issued the Joint Statement on the Establishment of Chinese-Swedish Working Group on Green Transition Investments. Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has reached a new, institutionalized stage, providing a solid foundation for cooperation in the next five years. 

At present, economic globalization is facing headwinds, with unilateralism and protectionism on the rise. However, economic globalization remains an irreversible historical trend, and opening up will continue to be a defining feature of Chinese modernization. With the implementation of China's high-standard opening up measures in the next five years, the vast and open Chinese market is sure to become a greater opportunity for the world. I sincerely hope that China and Sweden will continue to expand exchanges and cooperation across the board, write a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation, promote the sustained, sound and stable development of bilateral relations, and deliver greater benefits to both countries and peoples.