Editor's note: CGTN has recently launched the Ask China campaign to satisfy international audiences' curiosity about China. We invite experts, professionals, editors, reporters and others to provide answers to the insightful questions sent to CGTN by our viewers from around the world. Tian Jianing is a columnist for the economic website Maaal. She explains how China balances opening up and common prosperity. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
In early 2026, a succession of Western leaders – from Ireland, Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom – traveled to China, creating a wave of high-level diplomatic engagement. This was no coincidence. At a time when the global landscape is marked by volatility and uncertainty, China's stability, predictability and emphasis on mutually beneficial cooperation are positioning it as an option countries increasingly find difficult to bypass.
This appeal begins with China's guiding principles and strategic steadiness. China's long-standing cultural emphasis on harmony without uniformity stands in contrast to the unilateralism and power politics associated with some major states today. As BBC China correspondent Laura Bicker has observed, China does not operate through bloc politics, demand political allegiance or compel other countries to adopt its ideology.
Equally important are the tangible opportunities created by China's scale and openness. As the world's second-largest economy, China offers a vast domestic market, a comprehensive industrial ecosystem and an expanding framework of high-standard opening up. Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in China accompanied by more than 50 leading British companies and remarked that ignoring China would be unwise. The two sides signed 12 intergovernmental cooperation documents covering areas such as agriculture and food, culture and market regulation. Prime Minister Mark Carney used high-level dialogue to advance practical economic outcomes, including tariff reductions on Canadian canola and preferential tariff arrangements for tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described his visit as aimed at opening new opportunities for Finnish businesses and boosting Finland's exports to Asian markets. Representatives from Finnish firms in machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy and food joined the delegation, and companies from both countries signed 11 cooperation agreements that Orpo called encouraging.
These outcomes address the most pressing priorities for many governments– economic growth, market access and technological collaboration. Post-Brexit Britain is seeking external drivers to reinvigorate its economy. Middle powers facing uncertainty in U.S. policy, such as Canada and Finland, are seeking closer cooperation with China to enhance their strategic autonomy. As The New York Times has noted, while some countries retreat from cooperative frameworks, China continues to pursue development through participation in multilateral institutions and maintains confidence in the wealth-creating power of global trade.
What China offers is an alternative pathway to globalization – one that avoids bloc confrontation and ideological litmus tests in favor of shared development. In a world shaped by overlapping crises and rapid change, such continuity and predictability are increasingly valuable.
The international environment may be evolving, but China continues to present itself as a country committed to peaceful development, expanding openness and respect for rules. As nations search for reliable anchors in uncertain times, China is emerging as an indispensable reference point – not through coercion, but through engagement; not through hegemony, but through win-win cooperation. This, ultimately, explains why so many view China as the inevitable choice.