BEIJING: China’s number two leader Li Qiang said Sunday that his country was willing to help expand the global “trade pie” by further opening up, state media reported, while he slammed unilateralism from certain countries.
Many of China’s key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition. Its trade surged by a fifth in the first two months of the year, official data showed earlier this month, significantly outpacing forecasts.
China “will steadfastly advance high-level opening up, import more high-quality foreign goods, and work alongside all parties to promote the optimised and balanced development of trade”, Premier Li Qiang told business executives in Beijing on Sunday, according to Xinhua.
Li was speaking at the opening of the annual China Development Forum, attended this year by prominent business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The Chinese premier added that Beijing would work with other countries to “join forces to make the global economic and trade pie larger for everyone”.
