Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China has unveiled a 2025 action plan to stabilize foreign investment, outlining 20 policy initiatives across four strategic priorities: phased expansion of autonomous market opening, enhanced investment facilitation, functional upgrades to open-economy platforms, and service system optimization.

International observers have largely interpreted the move as reinforcing China’s commitment to institutional opening-up, with analysts noting its alignment with global investors’ calls for predictable regulatory frameworks.

Opening up is a fundamental national policy of China and a defining feature of Chinese modernization. It profoundly enriches the path and unlocks new frontiers of Chinese modernization.

This trajectory builds on four decades of calibrated openness – from the experimental zones of the 1980s to today’s network of 21 pilot free trade zones and cross-continental BRI corridors. Each phase has systematically addressed structural bottlenecks while creating new value chains,  aligning with the trend of economic globalization and shaping new models of international cooperation.

Since the start of the new era, China has pursued more proactive opening up policies, achieving historic milestones and transformations. The country has advanced a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth.

According to theGlobal Soft Power Index 2025 released by British consultancy Brand Finance, China has ranked first globally for four consecutive years in “easy to do business with” and “future growth potential.”

Through continuous opening up, China’s economy has become deeply integrated with the global economy, serving as a major engine for global growth. Over the past five years, China has contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth, being the largest driver of global development.

Research by the International Monetary Fund indicated that China’s economic growth has a spillover effect — when China’s growth rate rises by 1 percentage point, growth in other countries increases by around 0.3 percentage points.

China’s strategic pursuit of high-level economic openness is transforming its colossal domestic market into a catalyst for global growth. Recent corporate expansions underscore this shift: Tesla has commenced operations at its inaugural overseas energy storage Gigafactory in Shanghai; Siemens Healthineers is developing a cutting-edge medical equipment research and production hub in Shenzhen; while Yum China aims to nearly double its mainland outlets to 20,000 within two years.

The nation’s expansive, multi-dimensional consumer base continues to fortify foreign enterprises’ long-term commitments. Notably, China’s December 2024 implementation of zero-tariff access for 98% of imports from eligible least-developed nations triggered an 18.1% monthly surge in procurement from these economies. This policy framework not only enhances trade reciprocity but systematically integrates emerging markets into value chains.

China now serves as the principal commercial partner for more than 150 nations and regions globally, cementing its position as a pivotal node in global commerce. This trajectory of openness positions China’s growth as an accelerant for worldwide economic advancement.

The nation’s commitment to elevated openness transcends conventional economic policies, encompassing the sharing of developmental frameworks, institutional innovations, and transnational public goods. Amid a global climate of escalating unilateralism and protectionist measures, China persists as a stabilizing force—methodically deepening international collaboration through its domestic progress while championing structural reforms to fortify an inclusive global economic architecture.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), conceived as a transnational public good, originated from China’s drive for enhanced openness in its contemporary era. It has catalyzed deeper global economic interdependence and reciprocal growth, garnering international acclaim as a “revitalized paradigm of economic globalization.”

By pursuing elevated openness, China not only disseminates the dividends of its progress but also assumes a proactive role in recalibrating global governance frameworks—advancing the realization of a community with a shared future for mankind through institutionalized cooperation. This approach underscores an alignment of national development with multilateral imperatives, reinforcing China’s stewardship in shaping equitable international systems.

Spanning infrastructure interconnectivity, trade liberalizationand facilitation, financial harmonization, regulatory alignment, and cultural exchange, China is systematically propagating the ethos of open development and reciprocal collaboration across nations. This multidimensional engagement not only fosters collective prosperity among emerging economies but also advocates for an equitable, rules-based multipolar world order—advancing an inclusive model of economic globalization that prioritizes broad-based dividends.

Guided by a novel paradigm of universal benefit, China positions openness as a conduit and mutual advancement as the connective tissue of international relations. By synchronizing its institutional reforms with global developmental imperatives, the nation is poised to propel sustained momentum into worldwide growth trajectories, architecting a future where cooperative frameworks underpin shared prosperity. This calibrated strategy reaffirms China’s role as both participant and innovator in redefining 21st-century economic governance.

By Wang Yinxin, People’s Daily

Tesla’s first overseas Megafactory, a sprawling 200,000-square-meter facility in Shanghai’s Lin-gang Special Area, commenced operations on Feb. 11, 2025, marking a pivotal expansion of the U.S. automaker’s global energy-storage ambitions.

The site, equivalent in size to 30 standard football pitches, represents Tesla’s inaugural standalone Megapack production hub beyond American borders. With an initial annual output target of 10,000 units post-ramp-up, the factory underscores the firm’s strategic bet on China’s renewable energy sector.

Groundbreaking for the project occurred on May23, 2024, with mass production achieved within nine months of land acquisition and eight months of construction–a pace echoing the “Tesla speed” previously demonstrated by the Shanghai Gigafactory, which was erected in under a year in 2019.

Lu Yu, headof high-tech industry and innovation department at the Lin-gang Special Area Administration, hailed the venture as a “vote of confidence” in Shanghai’s governance. “This collaboration builds on our proven ability to synchronize corporate and governmental timelines,” Lu noted, emphasizing a streamlined approval process that inverted traditional workflows.

Authorities attributed the accelerated timeline to pre-emptive planning, including granular task mapping for corporate milestones and state support mechanisms. “We transitioned from enterprises awaiting approvals to governments anticipating corporate needs,” Lu added.

The development solidifies Shanghai’s reputation as a crucible for industrial efficiency, even as geopolitical tensions reshape global supply chains. Tesla’s doubling down on Chinese infrastructure signals deepening ties between multinational innovators and the region’s policy-driven ecosystem.

The Lin-gang Special Area’s deployment of a tailored “project service package” proved instrumental in accelerating Tesla’s Megafactory development, authorities revealed. Initiatives included constructing a dedicated river-crossing bridge to streamline logistics and erecting residential complexes housing over 2,000 workers, ensuring uninterrupted progress at the flagship site.

Lu emphasized the symbiotic relationship between energy storage and Shanghai’s burgeoning new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. “The Megafactory leverages Lin-gang’s mature NEV supply chain ecosystem, enabling rapid localization of production while enhancing the broader industry’s capacity and stability,” he noted.

With Tesla aggressively scaling its energy storage ambitions, Lin-gang’s established industrial framework positions it as a perfect partner. “This synergy underscores how public-private alignment can catalyze transformative projects,” Lu added, framing the collaboration as a blueprint for high-tech manufacturing efficiency.

As China’s paramount legislative and advisory assemblies convene this week for their annual sessions, the global spotlight shifts to Beijing. The “Two Sessions” — the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) — commence on March 5th and March 4th respectively, providing a crucial insight into the nation’s policy directions.

These gatherings serve as pivotal indicators of China’s political and economic course. This year’s “two sessions” bring together nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and over 2,000 CPPCC members to deliberate on state affairs, exemplifying the country’s commitment to whole-process people’s democracy.

A pertinent question arises: Do the recommendations and proposals put forward by NPCdeputies and CPPCCmembers actually influence policy? The data speaks volumes.

In 2024, China’s government departments addressed 8,783 suggestions from NPC deputies, accounting for 95.1 percent of all submissions, and 4,813 proposals from members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, representing 96.1 percent of total submissions.

More than 5,000 recommendations were formally adopted across ministries, resulting in the enactment of over 2,000 targeted policy measures. These efforts have accelerated progress in key areas: fostering high-caliber economic growth, advancing the national strategy to revitalize China through science and education, driving comprehensive rural modernization, and safeguarding and elevating public welfare.

Each motion, suggestion, and proposal underscores meticulous research and resolute commitment. Legislators and political advisors not only benefit from structured avenues to articulate insights but also observe concrete policy impacts stemming from their contributions.

As new energy vehicles (NEVs) gain traction among China’s younger demographics, post-purchase servicing has risen to prominence as a critical challenge. NPC deputy Cao Jingfang dedicated six months to scrutinizing the issue, conducting site visits to maintenance facilities and engaging industry specialists before formally proposing heightened policy backing for NEV aftercare infrastructure.

In a decisive response, China’s Ministry of Transport pledged to establish a robust regulatory framework encompassing 32 standards spanning technical certifications, service benchmarks, and inspection protocols. Concurrently, the ministry is spearheading efforts to formally classify “NEV maintenance technician” as a state-recognized profession, thereby institutionalizing workforce development for this burgeoning sector.

State mechanisms, as evidenced here, continue to serve as pivotal conduits for translating deliberative input into actionable governance.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs processed and formally responded to 313 legislative recommendations from NPC deputies alongside 174 advisory proposals from CPPCC members in 2024, with priorities centered on eldercare systems, social welfare modernization, and administrative governance reforms.

The ministry implemented a three-phase protocol—preliminary stakeholder consultation, real-time progress briefings, and outcome accountability reviews—to systematize policymaking. To deepen alignment, officials institutionalized direct participation by inviting NPC deputies and CPPCC members into ministerial forums, joint research task forces, and draft policy deliberations, ensuring expert input directly informed regulatory agendas.

This structured engagement yielded 24 codified regulatory actions over the past fiscal year, with more than 220 recommendations integrated into operational or strategic frameworks.

For NPC deputies and CPPCC members, participation in the two sessions is both an honor and a responsibility, with their performance subject to evaluation.

Many regions have introduced evaluation mechanisms for NPC deputies based on their attendance, constituent engagement, and the quality of their motions and suggestions. This year, the NPC will review the draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People’s Congress and Local People’s Congresses at Various Levels, further defining their responsibilities and requiring regularly performancereports.

During the NPC, deputies will deliberate the report on the work of the government, and the work report of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, and Supreme People’s Procuratorate. They will also review the government’s annual budgets and national development plans.

These reports, which outline legislative, administrative, and judicial developments, as well as how government funds are allocated, undergo rigorous scrutiny before final approval, ensuring the smooth operation of state institutions.

Besides, NPC deputies and CPPCC members also engage in inspections, research projects, and law enforcement oversight, submit motions, suggestions, and proposals, engage in deliberations, make inquiries, take part in elections and voting, and attend biweekly consultative sessions. They fulfill their duties in accordance with the law and serve the people wholeheartedly. As the “two sessions” unfold, NPC deputies and CPPCC members carry with them the voices and aspirations of all sectors of society. Their discussions will help shape national development and public policy, ensuring that the concerns of citizens are heard at the highest levels of government.In this dynamic exchange between policymakers and the public, China’s governance

By Li Zheng, People’s Daily

As the first quarter of 2025 unfolds, China’s innovation landscape reveals compelling patterns through three distinct regional narratives. The eastern tech stronghold of Hangzhou continues its ascendancy, while central China’s Henan province emerges as an unexpected cradle of commercial innovation, and western regions demonstrate growing cultural influence through cinematic achievements.

Hangzhou’s tech corridor now hosts Game Science, the visionary studio behind the global gaming phenomenon Black Myth: Wukong, alongside robotics pioneer Unitree whose Spring Festival Galaperformance became a national talking point. This eastern metropolis solidifies its position as China’s answer to Silicon Valley, nurturing enterprises that blend technological prowess with cultural resonance.

Henan’s commercial sector has undergone a significant evolution, exemplified by Pangdonglai. Once a regional player, the Xuchang-based retail complex attracted millions of visitors during this year’s Spring Festival, achieving daily revenues exceeding 100 million yuan across the eight-day holiday—a figure that parallels the earnings of Henan’s major cultural landmarks during peak seasons.This retail revolution accompanies the national expansion of homegrown brands like Mixue Bingcheng and Guoquan Shihui, challenging conventional wisdom about innovation geography.

Ne Zha 2, the animated sequel from China, has shattered global box office benchmarks, securing its place as the first Asian cinematic work to rank among the world’s top ten highest-grossing films. This historic achievement underscores the robust animation ecosystem and profound cultural legacy of Chengdu, Sichuan province—the film’s production hub. Once a regional cultural cornerstone, Chengdu is rapidly emerging as a pivotal player in the global creative economy, driven by its fusion of technological innovation and heritage-inspired storytelling.

These regional trajectories collectively sketch an evolving national innovation map where eastern tech dominance now faces vibrant challenges from central commercial innovators and western cultural producers. The emerging paradigm suggests China’s next developmental phase may be characterized not by singular hubs, but by a networked ecosystem of specialized regional competencies driving multidimensional growth.

So, what’s fueling this wave of breakthroughs?

Some point to the power of curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit. Neither Feng Ji, the mastermind behind Black Myth: Wukong, nor Jiaozi, the director of Ne Zha 2, had formal training in their respective fields. Yet, driven by passion and curiosity, they broke boundaries, crossed disciplines, and remained deeply committed to their craft.

Equally critical is the symbiosis between state policy and private enterprise.In tech hubs like Hangzhou, municipal officials routinely collaborate with investment executives during on-site consultations, fast-tracking resource allocation and regulatory support for fledgling firms.

Long-term vision and an open, inclusive innovation environment have also played a key role. Hangzhou, for example, allows government-guided funds to sustain loss ratios of up to 30%, deploying tolerant capital reserves to catalyse private-sector participation.This long-horizon approach fosters ecosystems where experimental ideas mature unimpeded.

Viewed holistically, these developments signal not serendipity but structural maturation. Parallel strides in industrial infrastructure, cutting-edge R&D, human capital, and market sophistication have collectively elevated the nation’s innovative capacity. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: China’s innovation “water table” rises, drawing global enterprises to its fertile ground.

China boasts the world’s largest talent pool. Annually, over 5 million STEM graduates enter its workforce—forging a strategic reservoir for disruptive innovation.

The nation’s vertically integrated consumer ecosystem compounds this advantage. A seamless domestic market—spanning 1.4 billion consumers—enables frictionless scaling of viable innovations. As arbitrary market distortions dissolve, commercialized R&D achieves exponential scalability, leveraging China’s unique capacity to convert technical prototypes into mass-market phenomena overnight.

Critically, next-generation infrastructure acts as force multiplier. With 1.1 billion digitally native citizens and 5G coverage density surpassing 60%, China’s symbiosis between digital and industrial domains creates a global testbed for AI-driven enterprises. Here, algorithmic innovation converges with manufacturing heft—a petri dish where industrial metaverses and autonomous supply chains transition from speculative theory to operational reality.

Meanwhile, China’s institutional framework continues to mature. The socialist market economy has become more efficient, fostering a culture that values innovation and tolerates trial and error. The country not only leverages the advantages of centralized coordination but also embraces the flexibility and diversity of market-driven experimentation.

With talent to drive innovation, markets to reward it, application scenarios to support it, and institutional advantages to safeguard it, China has created an ecosystem where innovation flourishes.

Innovation here operates as a synergistic interplay—skilled human capital ignites ideation, consumer markets validate scalability, real-world applications pressure-test viability, and institutional framework mitigates systemic friction. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle of ideation, commercialisation, and iterative refinement.

Looking ahead, the vast potential of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies will inspire more pioneers to explore uncharted territories. The wealth creation effect of China’s massive market will encourage bold new ideas. And in the years to come, even more groundbreaking innovations and compelling stories from China will captivate the world.

By Liu Nian, People’s Daily

China stands at a pivotal juncture as its demographic landscape shifts: birth rates continue to fall while the proportion of citizens aged 60 or older has surpassed 20% of the total population, according to its National Bureau of Statistics. This “silver wave” coincides with the nation’s push toward common prosperity, yet it raises a pressing paradox—how to reconcile rapid ageing with the challenge of achieving widespread affluence.

Does this demographic transition signal the erosion of China’s famed population dividend? Or can evolving definitions of productivity and innovation redefine its economic trajectory?

The answer lies in untangling the interplay between demographic trends, policy frameworks, and economic resilience. While China’s meteoric rise since the 1980s was undeniably fueled by its vast labor pool, analysts argue that institutional strengths—from socialist governance with Chinese characteristicsto decades of reform and opening-up—unleashed an economic miracle no less critical than sheer workforce size.

Quantity alone no longer dictates prosperity. Even as the working-age population contracts, policymakers emphasize that technology investment, upskilling initiatives, and capital inflows can mitigate labour shortages. A case in point is China’s burgeoning talent reservoir: over 240 million citizens now hold higher education qualifications, fostering a skilled workforce driving sectors from AI to green energy.

This pivot from “population dividend” to “talent dividend” underscores a strategic bet—that quality, not just numbers, will sustain China’s modernization. As automation and innovation hubs like the Greater Bay Area expand, the narrative shifts from demographic anxiety to human capital’s transformative potential. The ultimate test? Whether high-quality development can turn an ageing society into an engine of sustainable progress.

The correlation between population structures and economic dividends defies reductionist arithmetic. It demands the analytical rigour of multivariate calculus, where shifting age coefficients interact with technological vectors and institutional constants. This complexity necessitates a systems-level perspective to truly decipher the demographic dividend equation.

Contemporary economic modelling reveals a paradigm shift: the dividend manifests not merely through crude growth metrics, but through strategic activation of latent human capital. While youth demographics remain crucial, a silent revolution is emerging from an unexpected quadrant – silver-haired populations redefining post-retirement economic agency.

Historical anxieties about elderly technological alienation now confront empirical contradictions. The digital metamorphosis of China’s elderly cohort has become a socioeconomic epiphany. Where pundits once predicted generational obsolescence, silver-haired netizens now dominate Douyin livestreams, orchestrate Taobao storefronts, and curate Xiaohongshu tutorials with the acuity of digital natives.

China’s silver wave of 170 million senior netizens is reinvigorating the digital ecosystem, proving the nation’s demographic dividend maintains potent socioeconomic currency.

This cohort’s renaissance extends far beyond screens. From mist-shrouded Huangshan peaks where septuagenarians clad in Arc’teryx gear deploy DSLR rigs, to Beijing’s frost-kissed ski slopes where grandmothers carve parallel turns, their vitality mirrors youth culture’s intensity. The lifelong learning revolution sees retired accountants mastering Python through digital lecture while former teachers monetize calligraphy tutorials – wisdom economies thriving.

Official metrics quantify the movement: China’s post-retirement cohort channels over700 billion yuan ($96.31 billion) yearly into cultural pursuits and wanderlust, with 35 million silver-haired scholars crowding digital academies and marathon finish lines witnessing a surge of septuagenarian sprinters – concrete manifestations of a nation where sunset years glow brightest.

China’s sunset years fuel economic engines rather than brake them, as evidenced by the  phenomenon achieving statecraft recognition. The codified “silver economy” now anchors national policy blueprints, while its lexical zeitgeist cousin “silver power” penetrated mainstream discourse through annual buzzword rankings. Concurrently, medical chaperone services and biographical scribing emerge as legitimate professions among youth entrepreneurs – tangible proof that demographic shifts birth new economic ecosystems.

China has unveiled a national geriatric framework blueprint, mandating creation of multi-tiered, equitable geriatric care apparatus spanning megacities to agrarian counties. The policy white paper prioritizes market-driven eldercare industrialization to address China’s “grey wave” – the coalescing demands of pensioners seeking tailored retirement ecosystems.

By tapping into the potential of an aging society, China aims to generate new economic dividends. The country’s top-level policy design is providing clear direction for future development.

A broader perspective reveals that addressing both the declining birth rate and population aging requires a balanced approach. Further deepening reforms and expanding opening up will provide fresh momentum for Chinese modernization, even amid demographic shifts.

In today’s China, whether young or old, the common goal is to move forward with confidence and live a better life.