Xi: China to boost its opening-up

President also announces plan to raise imports, expand foreign financial access

President Xi Jinping announced a slew of major measures on Tuesday that China will adopt to boost its opening-up, including the country's plan to significantly lower the import tariffs for vehicles and some other products.

China will significantly broaden market access and create a more attractive investment environment, Xi said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference held in the southern island province of Hainan.

The country also will strengthen intellectual property protection and take the initiative to expand imports, he said.

China will accelerate the opening-up of the insurance industry, ease restrictions on the establishment of foreign financial institutions in China and expand their business scope, Xi said.

On manufacturing, he noted China has basically opened up this sector with a small number of exceptions on automobiles, ships and aircraft, and "these industries are now in a position to open up".

China will reduce as soon as possible limits on foreign investment in those industries, automobiles in particular, Xi said.

To improve the investment environment for foreign investors, China will finish the review of the negative list for foreign investment in the first six months of this year, Xi said.

China also will seek faster progress toward joining the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, he said.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's starting its reform and opening-up.

Over the past 40 years, China's GDP has averaged an annual growth rate of around 9.5 percent in comparable prices, Xi noted.

"Today, the Chinese people can say with great pride that reform and opening-up, China's second revolution if you like, has not only profoundly changed the country but also greatly influenced the whole world," Xi said.

Those actions meet its people's aspiration for development, innovation and a better life, and also meet the global trend toward development, cooperation and peace, Xi said.

Xi warned that a Cold War mentality and zero-sum thinking are increasingly out of date, and putting oneself on a pedestal or trying to immune oneself from adverse developments will lead to nowhere.

Founded in 2001, the forum has become a high-end platform for dialogues among political, business leaders and senior think tanks about key issues in Asia, and this year's annual conference has more than 2,000 attendees.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn