Xi unveils more opening-up reforms

PRESIDENT Xi Jinping unveiled new measures for expanding reform and opening-up yesterday.

This year China marks the 40th anniversary of the policy, and Xi’s speech heralded “a new phase of opening-up” for common prosperity of both China and the world.

“China’s reform and openingup meets its people’s aspiration for development, innovation and a better life. It also meets the global trend toward development, cooperation and peace,” said Xi when addressing the opening ceremony of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern island province of Hainan.

The conference is the first major diplomatic event in China since he was unanimously reelected president last month.

Observers believe that as a staunch advocate of globalization, China is leading opening-up and development in the world.

Xi announced that China will significantly broaden market access, create a more attractive investment environment, strengthen protection of intellectual property rights, and take the initiative to expand imports.

New initiatives include easing foreign equity restrictions in the industries of automobiles, ships and aircraft.

Late last year, China announced that measures would be taken to raise foreign equity caps in the banking, securities and insurance industries. “We will ensure that these measures are materialized,” Xi 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, and open up more areas of cooperation between Chinese and foreign financial markets, he said.

On manufacturing, Xi said China has basically opened up this sector with a small number of exceptions on automobiles, ships and aircraft.

“These industries are now in a position to open up. Going forward, we will reduce as soon as possible limits on foreign investment in these industries, automobiles in particular.”

China will also significantly lower the import tariffs for vehicles and reduce import tariffs for some other products this year, Xi said.

“We will take the initiative to expand imports.” The country will work hard to import more products that are competitive and needed by the Chinese people, he said.

China will seek faster progress toward joining the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, according to the president. “China does not seek trade surplus; we have a genuine desire to increase imports and achieve greater balance of international payments under the current account.”

Shanghai expo

Speaking of the first China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai this November, Xi said friends from around the world are welcome to participate. “It is not just another expo in an ordinary sense, but a major policy initiative and commitment taken of our own accord to open up the Chinese market,” he said.

Meanwhile, China hopes developed countries will stop imposing restrictions on normal and reasonable trade of high-tech products, and relax export controls on such trade with China, Xi said.

People attending the forum said the president has sent a strong message that China is firmly advancing reform and openingup at its own pace. It is also part of effort to turn the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China into action.

The congress last October revealed the roadmap for China’s rejuvenation, laying out a twostep approach toward “a great modern socialist country” and heralding a new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Profound change

Xi said the reform and openingup, initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, has significantly unleashed and enhanced productivity in China, blazed a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, demonstrated the strength of the nation, and actively contributed China’s share to the world.

Over the past 40 years, China has recorded an averaged annual GDP growth rate of around 9.5 percent, fostered a middle-income population of 400 million, and lifted more than 700 million Chinese people out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global total. China contributed over 30 percent of global growth in recent years.

Hailing it as “China’s second revolution,” Xi said the reform and opening-up had not only profoundly changed the country but also greatly influenced the whole world.

As the country’s helmsman, Xi launched the new round of reform and opening-up, the largest in scale around the globe, at a time when the giant vessel of China has entered “a deep-water zone.”

The world is undergoing a new round of major development, great change and profound readjustment.

“Humanity has a major choice to make between openness and isolation, and between progress and retrogression,” Xi said. “In a world aspiring for peace and development, the cold-war and zero-sum mentality looks even more out of place.”

The president called for people around the world to work together toward a community with a shared future for mankind.

They could achieve this by treating each other with respect and as equals, promoting dialogue and sharing responsibility, engaging in cooperation, upholding inclusiveness and seeking harmony without uniformity, as well as treating nature with respect and treasuring the planet.

China will not threaten anyone else, attempt to overturn the existing international system, or seek spheres of influence, no matter how much progress it has made in development, Xi said.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Chinese leaders and officials had declared China’s determination to liberalize further recently.

“Today I was very glad to hear President Xi Jinping reaffirm this and announce further steps in financial sector reforms, in opening up foreign investment rules, in protecting intellectual property, and in increasing imports in order for China to go further in this direction,” Lee said.

China has every intention to translate all the major initiatives of opening-up unveiled yesterday into reality, sooner rather than later, Xi declared. “We want the outcomes of our opening-up efforts to deliver benefits as soon as possible to all enterprises and people in China and around the world.”

Chi Fulin, head of the Hainanbased China Institute for Reform and Development, said: “China’s successful exploration and practices in reform and opening-up have offered a new choice for humanity as the world is at a crossroad for development.”