Global openness recorded its sharpest annual decline since 2016 last year, according to a report released today at the 9th Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai.
The World Openness Index fell 1 percent to 0.7453 in 2025. Its economic component dropped 1.44 percent to the lowest level since 1990, while gains in social and cultural openness slowed.
Speakers at the forum pointed to rising protectionism, geopolitical tensions and trade barriers as pressures on global openness.
Governments increasingly use trade policy to pursue national security, supply chain and technological goals, according to Luz Maria de la Mora, director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UN Trade and Development, known as UNCTAD.
Measures introduced unilaterally or without sufficient coordination create friction and make trade less predictable, she noted. Yet that does not necessarily mean less trade.
"So global trade is not shrinking, but it is being rapidly fragmented," de la Mora said. "While some economies are benefiting from new opportunities, others are struggling to keep pace."
The World Openness Report 2026 was released at the Hongqiao forum, held alongside the 9th China International Import Expo, which also opened today.
It was jointly compiled by the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Research Center for the Hongqiao International Economic Forum.
Titled "Toward More Resilient and Inclusive Openness for All," the report assesses economic, social and cultural openness, examining both policies and outcomes.
Singapore topped the ranking of 129 economies in 2025, followed by Ireland. Singapore has held the top spot for 15 years since 1990.
China ranked 37th, up one place from 2024. Its openness score stood at 0.7551, compared with 0.5891 in 1990, an increase of 28.18 percent.
The wider picture was uneven. Six of the seven regions covered recorded declines in openness in 2025. Europe, Central Asia and North America saw declines for a second straight year. Advanced economies became less open overall, while emerging and developing economies were more open.
Liao Fan, director of the institute and head of the report's research team, said economic security had become a central consideration in openness policies. But he warned against extending security concerns too broadly.
"Future openness will no longer be solely about expanding market access, but will place greater emphasis on balancing openness and security, efficiency and fairness, and development and resilience," Liao pointed out.
China's role as a market and a place for innovation was another focus of the report.
"China's market is an anchor of resilience for the world economy," said Wang Xuekun, who heads the forum's research center.
More than 70,000 foreign-invested enterprises were established in China in 2025, Wang observed. He also pointed to overseas companies setting up research centers and regional headquarters, finding local research partners and becoming more closely involved in China's industrial and innovation networks.
The report examines how artificial intelligence, digital trade and the transition to cleaner energy could create new opportunities for international cooperation. This edition also introduces a survey of public perceptions of openness, drawing on more than 7,500 questionnaires across 40 economies.
For developing economies, Liao said, the value of openness extends beyond export growth to gaining capital, technology and management expertise through participation in global production networks.
Editor: Liu Qi
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