Beijing forum highlights opportunities in China's resilient, opening market

China's economic resilience, continued opening-up and its expanding domestic market are creating fresh opportunities for foreign companies seeking deeper practical cooperation, Chinese and foreign officials and business leaders said at a dialogue in Beijing on Tuesday.

The remarks were made at the 2026 (9th) New Year Dialogue Between Diplomats and Business Leaders. Launched in 2017, the dialogue has become an important platform for Chinese and foreign companies to deepen economic and trade cooperation.

David Perez-Des Rosiers, chief representative in Beijing of the Canada-China Business Council, said Canada-China business relations are entering a new phase of pragmatic engagement as the two countries have stepped up contact in recent months.

China remains Canada's second-largest trading partner, with bilateral goods trade reaching 124 billion Canadian dollars last year, up about 5 percent, he said, adding that the figures reflect the resilience of commercial ties between the two countries.

Recent high-level interactions and China's development priorities, including continued opening-up, stronger capital markets, services-sector growth and expanded domestic demand, have created new room for bilateral trade, he said.

Canadian companies remain committed to the Chinese market, with strong cooperation potential in energy and natural resources, agriculture and agri-food, consumer goods and services, clean technology and advanced manufacturing, he added.

Francesco Pensabene, director of the trade promotion section of the Italian Embassy in China, said Italy values the dialogue platform as a channel for deeper communication, and is seeking to further strengthen cooperation with China, with a focus on global value chains and supply chains.

The deeper Italy and China, and Europe and China, cooperate along value and supply chains, the closer their economic ties will become, he said.

Pensabene said Italy, Europe's second-largest manufacturing country, sees broad room for cooperation with China in advanced technology, particularly in areas related to machinery, a pillar of Italian exports to China.

Research and development cooperation will be key to strengthening trade ties and promoting deeper economic integration, he noted, adding that this approach will guide Italy's engagement in China across sectors including machinery, chemicals, furniture, fashion and agri-food.

Zhang Zhigang, former vice-minister of commerce, said China's advances in innovation, infrastructure, green transition and the digital economy are creating broader space for commercial circulation, industrial upgrading and international cooperation.

He said the global expansion of Chinese technologies, from artificial intelligence models to the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, reflects China's technological progress while giving more countries, especially those in the Global South, more choices.

Official data showed China's economy made a strong start in the first quarter, with GDP exceeding 33.4 trillion yuan ($4.89 trillion), up 5 percent year-on-year.

Zhang said the performance sent a message of confidence to a rapidly changing world and showed China's role as a rare source of stability amid global turbulence.

China will work with other countries through a more open approach and more pragmatic measures to jointly address challenges and share development opportunities, he added.

Wang Min, president of the China General Chamber of Commerce, said that despite a complex and changing international situation, the trend of economic globalization remains irreversible, and openness, cooperation and mutual benefit remain the right way to address challenges.

China's economy continues to move forward steadily with strong resilience, as high-level opening-up deepens and the advantages of its vast market continue to be unleashed, Wang said. These trends, he added, will provide companies from around the world with broad opportunities and stable expectations.