China will continue opening-up despite challenges

A spokesman for the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said on Thursday that China will continue to expand its high-level opening-up with concrete steps to jointly build an open world economy.

When asked whether China's pace of opening-up will be disrupted by some Western countries' intensified containment of China at a news briefing in Beijing, spokesman Guo Weimin said opening-up is a national basic policy and new progress has been achieved in opening China to the outside world through a series of policies the country has launched.

For example, China has relaxed restrictions on market access, shortened the negative list for foreign investment market access and set up several batches of pilot free trade zones, Guo said.

"Indeed, the world now is faced with a tough and complicated situation, so the international community should strengthen solidarity to jointly deal with challenges," he said.

However, he noted people still see a few countries are keen to form cliques and blocs and divide the world by ideology under the current circumstances.

"Such practices go against the trend of the world and will not win people's support," Guo said.