Can President Xi Jinping convince the world at Asia’s Davos that China really is open for business?
Beijing will be hoping to bolster ties amid rising trade tensions with Washington, but analysts are unsure if it can deliver anything concrete
President Xi Jinping will be keen to show the world that China’s reform and opening up policy remains on track, and that the country is open for business when he addresses the Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday, but analysts’ opinions are mixed on whether he can pull it off, as trade tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to simmer.
Shaun Rein, the founder of the China Market Research Group, said this year’s event was more significant than ever because of the “potential for a massive trade war between the US and China”.
“And there is a lot of concern about whether China is going to be open for foreign business, and what [incentives] it might dole out to Europe and Asia as a way to keep the US down,” he said.
There is a lot of concern about whether China is going to be open for foreign business, and what [incentives] it might dole out to Europe and Asia as a way to keep the US down
The Boao Forum, which has been held annually since 2002 in the island province of Hainan – sometimes referred to as China’s Hawaii – will provide a platform for China to win support from other nations amid its escalating trade dispute with the United States.
Among the world leaders attending the event, which is known as Asia’s Davos, are Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsein-loong, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde will also attend.