Chinese President Xi says need to bring down trade barriers

Global trade barriers must be removed, and countries should uphold basic multilateral trade principles while standing firm against protectionism, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of the Nov. 5-10 China International Import Expo, or CIIE, an annual import show in Shanghai, Xi said more must be done to boost international cooperation and remove barriers to innovation.

He reiterated broad pledges to continue to open China’s economy and markets, and strengthen protection of intellectual property rights.

The remarks come as U.S. and Chinese negotiators work to finalise a text of a “phase one” agreement for U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi to sign this month to ease the nearly 16-month trade war that has dented the global economy.

“There is no single country that can resolve by itself the difficulties facing the development of the world’s economy,” Xi said in a speech.

“We need to join hands with each other instead of letting go of each other’s hands. We need to tear down walls, not to erect walls. We need to stand firm against protectionism and unilateralism. We need to continually bring down trade barriers, optimise global value and supply chains and jointly foster market demand,” he said.

China launched the import expo last year as the China-U.S. trade war was heating up.

Critics say the week-long Chinese buying spree once a year does little to address structural concerns, including weak intellectual property protection, entry barriers and the lack of a level playing field for foreign businesses in China.

French President Emmanuel Macron, attending the expo, called on China to “consolidate” the opening up of its market.

“Much has been done in recent years with two revisions of the negative lists for foreign investment ... important tariff reductions have been granted. We call for their consolidation and deepening,” Macron said in remarks that followed Xi’s.

“We need a greater openness of China and its domestic market,” he said, citing the agri-food sector.

“All French, German and European companies expect a lot of China’s promises here.”

(REUTERS)