BEIJING - Foreign businesses are important participants in the Chinese modernization drive, Chinese President Xi Jinping said while meeting with representatives of the international business community in Beijing on Friday.

Xi noted the twin miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability that China has created over the past seven decades since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially over the past four decades of reform and opening up.

He attributed the miracles to the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China as well as the unity and hard work of the Chinese people, and also to the support and help from the international community, including the contribution of foreign businesses operating in China.

"Thanks to reform and opening up, and importantly to actively leveraging foreign capital, China was able to rapidly enter the global market and catch up with the times in great strides," Xi said.

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Foreign businesses and investment in China have driven economic growth and employment, boosted technological and managerial progress, and facilitated reform and opening up, he said.

"All of this shows that foreign businesses are important participants in the Chinese modernization drive, in the country's reform and opening up and innovation, and in its interconnectivity with the world and integration into economic globalization," Xi said.

In this process, foreign businesses have thrived and generally enjoyed handsome returns, achieved win-win results, and forged profound friendship with the Chinese people, Xi added.

Xi pointed out that the country, which is on a Chinese path to modernization in all respects, has been a major contributor to and anchor of stability for global growth for many years.

Committed to the fundamental national policy of opening up to the world, China is advancing high-standard opening up and taking solid steps to expand institutional opening up, such as that of rules, regulations, management, and standards, Xi said.

"China's door will only open wider. The policy of welcoming foreign investment has not changed and will not change," said the president.

Having the world's second largest consumer market and largest middle-income group, China offers great potential for investment and consumption, Xi noted.

With a commitment to high-quality development, China is accelerating green, digital and smart transformation, which, coupled with the country's sophisticated industrial ecosystem, provides the best testing ground for the latest outcomes of technological revolution and industrial upgrading, he said.

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Xi said China has developed sound regulations, policies and procedures for foreign investment, promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and made active efforts to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

China enjoys long-standing political and social stability, and is widely recognized as one of the safest countries in the world, he added.

"China has been and will remain an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors. Embracing China is embracing opportunities, believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future," he said.