Premier Li Qiang calls for a global pledge to open up, while ‘power politics’ runs rampant

Beijing has urged global commitment to opening up, while pledging to create more blue ocean markets in a world engulfed by protectionism.

“[Now,] power politics is running rampant, acting with impunity; at the same time, calls to uphold fairness and justice continue to grow louder,” Li said, without naming any specific countries.

“These seemingly contradictory phenomena reflect, at a deeper level, clashes in ideas and perceptions. In particular, divergences in how we understand some fundamental issues will profoundly shape how countries and nations interact with one another.”

He also underscored China’s efforts to tackle “involutionary” competition, which he said has “yielded positive results”, while noting that healthy competition was essential to generate stronger momentum and that the innovation and efficiency of Chinese firms had largely benefited from robust market competition.