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Premier Li Qiang addressed foreign business leaders, politicians and researchers at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing. Photo: Kyodo

China to stay open ‘no matter what’, Premier Li Qiang tells global CEOs in ‘first class business environment’ pledge

  • China will continue to drive global economic growth and provide a huge market for foreign businesses, Premier Li Qiang tells annual Beijing forum
  • Li next travels to Hainan for the Boao Forum, after his tour of Hunan province and southern tech hub Shenzhen last week
Li Qiang
China will remain open “no matter what happens” and maintain steady economic growth, Premier Li Qiang told CEOs of multinational companies at a business conference in Beijing on Monday.

Li’s pledge came as the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed that the new premier would address the Boao Forum in Hainan later this week, days after his tour of Hunan province and southern tech hub Shenzhen.

Addressing foreign business leaders, politicians and researchers at the annual China Development Forum in the capital, Li emphasised that China was deeply integrated with the global supply chain and would continue to drive the world’s economic growth as well as provide a huge market for foreign businesses.

“We will align with international economic and trade rules that are of very high standards, expand our opening-up in a steady and systematic way, and strive to create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, rule-of-law- based and internationalised,” he said.

“No matter how the international situation changes, China will unswervingly keep expanding our opening up.”

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With the global economy facing a difficult period marked by complicated factors and volatility, dealing with the challenges would require confidence and the steadying of public expectations, Li told the forum on its closing day.

“It’s like walking in the rain. If you only look down at your feet, you’ll see only mud. But if you look ahead, you’ll see the rainbow after the rain.”

Chinese leaders have in recent weeks stepped up efforts to woo foreign and private businesses, as the country opens up fully following the lifting of strict pandemic restrictions earlier this year.

In delivering an address at the same forum on Sunday, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang pledged to expand market access and put China on a resilient recovery track after three years of tight Covid-19 controls.

The assurances from Li and Ding come amid concerns among foreign business leaders that China has turned inward in pursuing self-reliance – especially in the technology field – to counter US containment and decoupling efforts.

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The annual Boao Forum for Asia, sometimes billed as China’s answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, opens on March 30 in the southern island province of Hainan.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Li’s counterparts Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia and Pedro Sánchez of Spain will be among foreign leaders attending the forum, as they separately also make official visits to China.

The China Development Forum aims to promote policy exchanges with foreign business communities. This year’s event, which opened on Saturday, was its first in-person edition since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

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American attendees this year included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano Amon, Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, US-China Business Council president Craig Allen, and Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who also attended the forum, hosted a meeting with the US business leaders on Saturday.

Even as ties with the United States remain strained amid an obvious trend of decoupling, Chinese leaders have repeatedly pledged a healthy and stable business environment and urged multinationals to expand their investments in China.

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