With the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, the world economy has been trapped in the deepest recession since the 1930s. Its subsequent influence and the slow recovery have again stimulated the mood of anti-globalization, not only in the field of international trade, but also in the performance of foreign investment. “After a strong rise in 2015, global FDI flows lost its growth momentum in 2016, showing that the road to recovery remains bumpy.” However, as a developing country and emerging economy, China is sticking to the multilateral regime and promoting trade and investment facilitation, which was emphasized during the nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party in 2017.

Contrary to the conservative unilateralism upheld by the US President Donald Trump, China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank should hopefully bring about regional and trans-regional prosperity. Meanwhile, the continuing Opening Policy and the evolution of China's legal framework should provide more opportunities for the development of international transactions between China and other countries.

The reason why China is showing more self-confidence and dynamism to fulfill its international responsibilities is that, after several decades of economic reform, it has found a unique road to success, known as the socialist market mechanism with Chinese characteristics. As analyzed in Evolution of the Chinese Economic Model and Its International Implications, with “a steady balancing of two forces: state intervention and free market forces” (Rafal Ulatowski), the current Chinese model is formed from the economic reform starting from 1978 and the second wave of globalization. It is coordinated with the Opening Policy, which has been boosting international trade and foreign direct investment. In addition to these economic elements including the innovated socialist market economy and the continuing growth of FDI and trade, China's stable political system is also illustrated in Domestic Political and Economic System of China (Łukasz Gołota). The information contained in this chapter provides the context for anyone who is interested in doing transactions with the Chinese or invest in China.