There were two pieces of economic news that are quite eye-catching recently, one is that Bank of China, one of China's four biggest state-owned commercial banks, started its Hong Kong public offering on May 15 and plans to offer a total of 25.57 billion H shares in its global offering and the net proceeds of the bank's global offering will be approximately 68.07 billion HK dollars. Many investors in Europe, America and Hong Kong queued up to purchase the shares.

Another one is that CITIC Group and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) have beaten world-famous contractors to win bids for the world's largest road project in Algeria. The two Chinese companies had succeeded in getting the contracts for the central and western sections of the Algerian East-West Highway project with total deal up to 6.25 billion US dollars. This is so far China's largest overseas deal.

The two news show China has made a further stride in its opening up level. Chinese enterprises are being extensively involved in world economic cooperation and competition.

Opening up has long been one of China's basic policies, making full use of "two markets, two resources" is not only the requirement of building socialist market economy, but also an important guarantee in realizing coordinated and sustained economic development.

Statistics show China has attracted a total of 630 billion US dollars of foreign direct investment since its reform and opening up. With the inflow of large amount of funds, equipment and management experience, China's situation of lack of fund and advanced technology has been changed, and China' economic development has been greatly accelerated.

Over the past 27 years, China's economic strength has been greatly enhanced, but its foreign fund policy will not be changed. China will attach more importance to the quality of using foreign fund and there will be more varieties in introducing foreign funds. Foreign direct investment, overseas financing, merger and acquisition will continue to help fuel China's economic development.

On the other hand, along with the expansion and upgrading of the economic globalization and China's opening up level, China's links with the outside world become more frequent. A growing number of Chinese enterprises have invested or done business overseas.

Steadily promoting China's overseas investment and encouraging domestic firms to go outside have become one of China's important strategies in actively participating in global economic cooperation and competition and raising China's opening up level, they are also China's realistic option in order to promote a balanced development and enhancing domestic companies' competitiveness in the world.

After China's accession to the World Trade Organization, China has been in the new phase of complete opening up, meanwhile it also faces many new challenges such as the escalating trade protectionism and frictions. If domestic companies could go overseas to do business, they could avoid various tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.

Not long ago, the European Union resumed its levy of anti-dumping duties on China's color TV sets, but the matter did not arouse uproar among Chinese color TV makers. The reason is simple, many Chinese color TV makers like Konka, Xoceco, Changhong, Skyworth, Haier and TCL have set up their overseas branches in Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Hungary, Czech, Poland and Belgium.

Over the past decade, China continued to maintain a double trade surplus. By the end of March, this year, China's foreign exchange reserve amounted to 875.1 billion US dollars.

Chinese enterprises' overseas business will help China shift its economic structure and cut the surplus of capital and finance projects.

Of course, domestic enterprises could not only avoid trade frictions by going overseas, they could also be more familiar with international rules, raise their business level and increase job opportunities.

In recent years, more and more Chinese firms set up factories overseas, they have not only made great contribution to the local economy, but also promoted a coordinated development between China and the rest of the world.

However, we must be sober-minded that Chinese enterprises' "going out " is at its starting stage, many difficulties are still ahead.

Statistics show that China's investment volume only takes up 0.5 percent of the world's total, foreign project contract volume is only equivalent to 2.1 percent of the world's total and labor exports only accounts for 1.5 percent of the international labor exports.

In addition, most Chinese enterprises do not have enough overseas investing experience. They also lack awareness and protection measures when encountering risks, related departments such as finance, banks and insurance sectors should help enterprises adapt themselves to overseas market.

By People's Daily Online