bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday lambasted “protectionism, isolationism and populism” and again vowed to open up Asia’s largest economy, as China faces an escalating trade dispute with the United States.
Xi told a gathering of foreign business executives that after “signs of stability and improvement in the world economy” last year, “we must also stay vigilant because ... we have seen a surge of trade protectionism, isolationism and populism”.
The leaders of mining giant BHP Billiton, German carmaker Volkswagen and British conglomerate Swire were at the meeting, according to images from Chinese state television.
Trade relations between Beijing and Washington risk descending into all-out conflict, with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on almost all Chinese exports to the US.
Earlier on Thursday, China’s commerce ministry accused the US of abusing tariffs to trigger a trade war.
US-China trade row hits carmaker Daimler; firm cuts profit forecast
Without mentioning the Trump administration, Xi condemned “cold war mentalities and zero-sum games” where exporting countries are seen as the only winners of trade exchanges.
“The peace and development of the world faces more and more severe challenges,” Xi cautioned.
China’s head of state also repeated his promises of economic openness made in April at the Boao Forum for Asia, the “Chinese Davos”, where he promised to accelerate the opening up of the Chinese financial sector.
Xi called on nations to “abandon those cold war mentalities and zero-sum games. We need to focus on win-win cooperation to build a new type of international relations.”
He also stressed that foreign capital had played an active and important role in China’s economic development and the process of deepening reform.


“Over the past 40 years, China’s economic development has been achieved thanks to opening up. In the future, China’s high-quality economic development must be pursued with even greater opening up,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
“China’s door to the outside world will open even wider, rather than being closed,” he said. “China will continue to greatly ease market access, create a more favourable environment for investors, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights and expand imports to create a more relaxed and orderly environment for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs to invest and start businesses in China.”
US deals may become ‘political footballs’ as China hits back in trade row
In spite of Beijing’s conciliatory tone, Western companies complain about unfulfilled pledges and a tough business climate in the country due to factors such as internet censorship and unfavourable regulations.
In a survey released on Wednesday by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, nearly half of the European firms in the poll said it had become “more difficult” to do business in the past 12 months.
And a fifth said they have been victims of forced technology transfers, a practice denounced fiercely by Washington as it carries out an investigation on the issue while threatening tariffs in retaliation.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


US-China tech thaw? Trump clears Nvidia H200 exports – why the green light matters

Supply chain guru Victor Fung warns of ‘20% tax’ as tariffs reshape global trade

‘A slap in the face’: not all US farmers happy with Trump’s US$12 billion aid package

China leans on German carmakers to help break Brussels tariff deadlock, fix Nexperia mess

US-China trade war

Chinese President Xi Jinping condemns trade barriers amid tariff row with the US

Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) meets foreign business executives at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Diplomacy

Economy

China Economy

Xi takes aim at ‘protectionism, isolationism and populism’ at gathering of foreign business executives


US-China trade war: All stories