Xi Jinping, speaking at APEC, pledges market reforms in bid to join Asia-Pacific trade bloc
- Chinese leader says Beijing ‘will promote all-round opening-up of its agricultural and manufacturing sectors’, among other changes
- China has applied to become part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which currently has 11 members
President Xi Jinping on Thursday pledged a raft of economic reforms as part of China’s efforts to join a Pacific Rim trade pact abandoned four years ago by the US and warned against efforts to “draw ideological lines” in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a recorded video address played at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by New Zealand, Xi said Beijing “will promote all-round opening-up of its agricultural and manufacturing sectors, expand the opening of the service sector, and treat domestic and foreign businesses as equals in accordance with law”.
He also said China would shorten the list of sectors that foreign companies are not allowed to invest in.
China announced in September that it had formally applied to join the CPTPP, which includes New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Mexico and seven other countries, accounts for about 13 per cent of global commerce and came into force in 2019.