Spotlight: New global context needs more open, stable trade system

As world elites gathered in the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the ongoing Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the participants highlighted the need for a more open and stable global trade system under the new international situation.

The four-day meeting, which opened Wednesday, aims to explore solutions to major global challenges under the theme "The New Global Context."

Over 2,500 participants from across the world are expected to exchange views on a wide range of issues, including global economy, environmental protection and non-conventional security.

CHINA'S COMMITMENT TO TRADE, INVESTMENT LIBERALIZATION

In a keynote speech at the meeting Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said new measures are needed to address such global challenges as laggard economic recovery, regional conflicts and terrorism.

China, he added, will continue to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and further open up the service and capital markets, as well as the central and western part of the country.

"China will encourage its companies to explore the international market, and work for common development with other countries through greater openness towards each other," Li said.

Meanwhile, he noted that China calls on countries to promote opening up and innovation, and strengthen international coordination at macro-economic levels when formulating policies in accordance with their own national conditions.

All countries should oppose protectionism and expand regional economic cooperation, Li said.

When meeting with representatives of the WEF's International Business Council, the premier also vowed to advance China's comprehensive reform and open the country wider to foreign investors.

China will continue to push ahead with its reform in key areas in 2015, with the priority being properly handling the relationship between the government and the market, Li said.

He promised that China will carry out deeper and wider reform in its administrative approval system to stimulate market vitality and create a better environment for fair competition.

China, Li said, will also promote the development of inclusive finance, develop multi-level capital market, support small and medium-sized banks and private banks, and lower the corporate leverage gradually through the development of the capital market and direct financing.

The premier pledged that China will advance its ongoing reform in fiscal, tax and key financial areas, adding that his country is to further relax foreign investment access and open its service industry wider to the outside world.

FTA STRATEGY

As global trade is experiencing the largest change since the Uruguay round of trade talks in 1994, multilateral trade systems and regional trade arrangements have always been the driving force behind economic globalization.

China, the world's second largest economy, has devoted itself to the development of multilateral trade systems.

When meeting a delegation of U.S. business leaders and former senior officials last July, Li said China will join in and contribute to the construction of a new global trade system.

He said China will be more open and improve the market environment to give fair competition for companies from both home and abroad.

In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerated fulfillment of the country's free trade area (FTA) strategy and the building of a new economic system of openness.

The FTA strategy is an important part of China's new round of opening-up, Xi said at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

China must accelerate the FTA strategy and give the FTAs a bigger role in trade and investment, he said, adding that accelerating the FTA strategy is an important way for China to actively participate in the rule-making of international economic and trade areas.

In recent years, China has been pushing forward opening-up, having signed numerous free trade agreements with more than 20 countries or regions, including Switzerland, the host of the Davos meeting.

Moreover, China signed a declaration of intent on practically concluding bilateral negotiations on a free trade agreement with Australia in November, shortly after concluding substantive FTA talks with South Korea.

On Nov. 11, members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) vowed to kick off and advance the process of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, an initiative strongly supported by China that will add 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars of output to the global economy.

For China, the number of its FTAs needs to increase, but more attention must be paid to their quality with more emphasis on risks and risk assessment.

On numerous occasions, Chinese leaders have said market-oriented reform will create a law-based business environment and economic restructuring should move faster in the country.

Against the backdrop of rising trade and investment protectionism, China's suggestions and actions will surely boost regional economic integration and help the world build a sound system for global trade. Endi