Xi pledges more imports and fairer trade practices

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to import more goods from overseas and create a more level playing field for foreign firms during his opening address at the China International Import Expo on Monday.

The speech, which China critics were hoping would reveal concrete measures to liberalise markets and boost free trade, was in large part based on previous commitments to opening up the education, telecoms and cultural sectors, Reuters reports.

Xi also said that China would work to protect the interests of foreign companies and clamp down on intellectual property theft.

The president said that China aimed to import $30 trillion worth of goods and $10 trillion of services over the next 15 years, an increase on last year’s forecast of $24 trillion worth of goods over the same time frame.

Taking aim at the trade war with Washington, Xi said that “multilateralism and the free trade system is under attack, factors of instability and uncertainty are numerous, and risks and obstacles are increasing.”