China vows more open economy in bid to boost confidence
Seeking to reassure the outside world amid rising global trade tensions, Chinese Premier Li Qiang has vowed to further open up the economy and fully implement national treatment of foreign companies.
Li said at the China Development Forum in Beijing that Beijing will focus on promoting high-quality development and continue to create a conducive business environment so that companies coming to China can develop safely and achieve great success, state media reported Sunday.
The annual two-day forum, which ends Monday, serves as a platform for Beijing to promote its economic trajectory and investment opportunities to foreign business leaders, Chinese officials, economists and academics.
This year’s meeting comes as the world’s second-largest economy faces rising tensions with major trading partners over 2025’s record US$1.2 (A1.7) trillion trade surplus.
This also comes ahead of the anticipated visit of US President Donald Trump, who postponed the trip originally planned for late March due to the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Chief executives in attendance include Apple, Samsung Electronics, Volkswagen, chipmaker Broadcom Inc, industrial holding company Siemens, chemical maker BASF and pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
There were no Japanese company executives on the guest list on the forum’s website.
Li said China will import more high-quality goods and work with trading partners to promote balanced trade development and expand the global trade pie, and stated that China is determined to become the “cornerstone of certainty” and “port of stability” for the world economy.
He said that opening up and technological progress are necessary to create new markets.
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