by YANG Shuhongji

The World Openness Index, measuring openness levels across 129 economies from 1990 to 2024, stood at 0.7545 in 2024, down 0.05% from a year earlier, according to the World Openness Report 2025 released Wednesday at the eighth Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai.

Compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Hongqiao Forum Research Center, the report said global openness continues to face headwinds but noted that emerging markets and developing economies are playing a growing role in sustaining openness.

China's index rose from 0.5891 in 1990 to 0.7634 in 2024, reflecting its continued integration into global trade and investment. "The world's openness will rely more on emerging forces in the future," said Liao Fan, head of the CASS Institute of World Economics and Politics.