China will open market further in push to bring down global trade barriers, Xi Jinping tells import expo
- China’s president has urged global leaders to bring down trade barriers and resist protectionism in a speech at the China International Import Expo
- Xi’s comments come a day after the closing of the Canton Export Fair, at which export orders fell for the third year in a row amid the US trade war
President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday that a more robust domestic market and a modern government would stimulate China’s opening up to the rest of the world, again portraying the nation as a leader in advancing globalisation and combating protectionism.
Xi emphasised that global economic integration was a long-term historical trend – comparing it to some of the world’s longest rivers – that could not be halted, adding no country alone could solve challenges this process posed for the world’s economic development.
He called on global leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron who was at the event, to work together to expand the global market and reduce resistance to globalisation.
All countries should adhere to the concept of people first, and we should not put our own interests above human interests
The global economy was becoming increasingly integrated and a few “bumps” in the globalisation process were inevitable, Xi said, speaking at the expo for the second year in a row. Consultation and cooperation, not protectionism, were the correct way to address these challenges, he repeated.
“As long as we treat each other as equals, understand and accommodate each others’ interests, there is no problem that cannot be solved,” Xi said.