China signals interest in ending trade war

BEIJING — Top Chinese economic policymakers promised over the weekend that Beijing is ready to open up the country’s economy to more market-based competition and international trade, in the latest sign of strong Chinese interest in ending a multibilliondollar trade war with the United States.

Senior U.S. officials are scheduled to come to Beijing in the coming days for trade talks, with Chinese officials then heading for Washington the following week in an attempt to wrap up a deal.

But Chinese officials have an extra incentive in pledging to loosen their hold over the world’s No. 2 economy, and not just to the Trump administration. In addition to a trade war that is hitting the country’s exporters, China’s economy has also been hurt by private sector business leaders who have become increasingly cautious in recent months about making new investments.

The economy has slowed, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of skepticism that further private investments will be profitable. Stateowned enterprises have claimed a growing share of the loans available in the economy, a sign that the government might be crowding out the private businesses that could drive future growth. Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, has insisted that the Communist Party play an ever-greater role in corporate decisionmaking and daily life.

However, Chinese officials have said for years that they were ready to allow foreign competitors to enter their market on a more-equal footing, but progress has been slow. The promises made over the weekend in many cases repeated past pledges, such as to open the country’s financial sector more widely to foreign investment.

The tone of remarks at the weekend session of the China Development Forum, the country’s premier annual economic policy conference, was nonetheless striking. It appeared to represent a coordinated effort to present an international image of China as a country moving in the direction of greater economic openness. Senior officials took turns extolling a new foreign investment law approved by China’s legislature on March 15.

Foreign lawyers have described the law as vague, however, noting that a third of the provisions are no longer than one sentence each and that domestic companies are still covered by separate legislation.