The Trade and Development Report 2026: Geoeconomics of Development, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva on October 9, projects that global economic growth will slow to 2.6% this year, lower than the figure of 2.9% last year. The report notes that Asia is expected to account for 59% of global economic growth in 2026, maintaining its leading position. However, its path to catching up with advanced economies is narrowing as traditional growth dividends rapidly diminish. The world is facing mounting pressures from geopolitical tensions, sluggish economic growth, and risks to energy security and global supply chains. At this critical turning point, what policy directions should the Asia-Pacific region pursue, and how should it chart its path towards greater regional cooperation?

The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit will be held in Shenzhen on November 18-19, and the significance of this event extends far beyond the Asia-Pacific region. In mid-October, the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Hong Kong for the first time, focusing on four key priorities: fiscal policies supporting people's livelihood development, financing for digital infrastructure, promoting financial inclusion, and exchange and cooperation among young financial talents. Policymakers from various countries have realized the need for coordinated action on how to strengthen cooperation, stabilize growth, and safeguard people's livelihoods.

China’s policy choices, whether in addressing fiscal pressures, labor and employment issues, or technological innovation, not only shape its own future high-quality development, but also have far-reaching implications for the transformation of global economic relations and the evolution of international cooperation models. At its core, national wealth is built through cities. Cities serve as hubs that bring together people, industries, capital, technology, public services, institutional frameworks and policy resources. As China advances its modernization process, it is imperative to continuously strengthen the role of cities in spearheading the country's efforts to expand opening-up to the outside world.

China’s Central Urban Work Conference held in July 2025 highlighted the need to fully leverage cities as key hubs connecting domestic and international economic circulation, while continuously enhancing the level of openness and cooperation. In May 2026, the country’s State Council issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Regeneration, explicitly identifying “enhancing cities’ openness and international cooperation” as one of the key pathways for “fostering and expanding new drivers of urban development”. Enhancing the openness of cities is a fundamental pillar for the country's broader opening-up strategy into practice, providing essential support for advancing China's high-quality development in a sustained and substantive way.

China’s cities, as incubators of new rules and testing grounds for institutional innovation, will also serve as key drivers in reshaping the global order. They will play an increasingly important role in strengthening regional policy coordination across the Asia-Pacific, fostering market stability and deepening international cooperation. At the same time, the investment potential of Chinese cities needs to be more widely recognized and brought into focus within the global allocation of resources.

Over the past few years, as China has continued to improve and expand its visa-free entry and transit facilitation policies, cities have seen an increase in international flight routes, alongside improvements in their capacity to host international conferences and provide supporting services for foreign-related business activities. References to building “internationalized cities” and “global cities” have also featured prominently in the government work reports and medium- to long-term strategic plans of many local governments. However, for Chinese cities to emerge as “new anchors of stability and sources of certainty for future global economic growth”, further progress is needed in areas such as regulatory stability, the facilitation of capital and factor mobility, and the improvement of the legal framework for foreign-related affairs. The evolution from “public security management” towards “resilient community governance”, and from “physical openness” towards “institutional opening-up”, indicates the need for China's cities to continue refining the governance capabilities over the long term. There remains a gap between current practices and the expectations of global investors and multinational corporations.

Future industries tend to follow the flow of people. A city's development momentum increasingly depends on its ability to attract people, which is closely linked to its role as a consumption hub. One of the first indicators for measuring a city's degree of international openness is the proportion of foreign residents in its permanent population. This is not only a fundamental measure of a global city's attractiveness, but also reflects the sense of belonging experienced by its new residents. London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore are widely regarded as belonging to the first tier of world-class international cities. They are global centers of finance, commerce, innovation and culture, as well as major hubs of global influence and geopolitical activity. Foreign nationals typically account for more than 10% of their total populations. By comparison, Chinese cities have a relatively low proportion of foreign residents. Even in first-tier cities and economically developed urban centers, foreign nationals account for, at most, only around 1% of the total population.

I believe that the openness of Chinese cities should be centered more on people's everyday needs, like food, clothing, housing and transportation, with the priority being providing more efficient and convenient services. China's future opening-up should go beyond emphasizing physical infrastructure such as airports, ports and telecommunications, or simply expanding trade. The focus instead should be on building an internationalized urban ecosystem that encourages digital nomads seeking work and leisure opportunities, as well as experienced international visitors, for their long-term stay. This is essential not only for business activities such as investment and trade, but also for exchanges in technology, culture and talent. A stable, long-term foreign resident population can help generate sustained consumer demand, inject fresh momentum into urban development and drive the upgrading of local industries.

Furthermore, helping the international community develop a deeper understanding of China should not be left to be shaped by smartphones and social media alone. Tourist hotspots popularized by influencers and social media exposure are far from sufficient. What matters more is fostering genuine empathy and a shared sense of experience. It is through everyday experiences, from daily meals to ordinary neighborhood streets, and through living and interacting with local people, that visitors can better appreciate the vitality and distinctive charm of a city's development. Such personal encounters allow deeper trust to develop gradually over time. Through this, China's voice in the global scene can be strengthened. After all, everyday life is the most powerful form of expression.

For Chinese cities to achieve genuine progress in expanding their openness to the outside world, and to foster deep value co-creation between foreign investors and local stakeholders, there is still a long way to go. The key lies in how urban management policies are designed and implemented. A lack of reform and innovation, coupled with the absence of practical, tailored solutions, may well be the fundamental reason why urban management policies struggle to deliver meaningful results. Every city has its own unique identity and underlying strengths. What needs to be done is to locate and build upon each’s city distinctive characteristics.

Hence, the mayors of these cities need to embrace a shift in mindset and strengthen their people-centered approach, adopting multiple, dynamic perspectives to understand how cities grow and evolve. The next phase of China's urban opening-up should focus on strengthening social connections, expanding access to services and upgrading urban governance. Greater efforts are needed to address issues of livability and attractiveness, while placing greater emphasis on the role of grassroots and private initiatives in providing support and driving urban development.

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Yi Wang is Head of Global Development Program and Senior Researcher at ANBOUND, an independent think tank.