Xi Jinping promises to lower tariffs, reduce investment restrictions

In his first public speech since the outbreak of trade conflict with the US, Xi positioned China as a champion of multilateral trade and said the world was a global village where economic development was increasingly interconnected.

New cars and cargo containers wait in Tacoma, Washington.

“China’s door of opening up will not be closed and will only open even wider,“ he said.

Appearing to respond to "promise fatigue" from the international business community, Xi said China would ensure the opening measures flagged last year – to broaden market access to banking, securities and insurance for foreign companies and to raise the foreign equity cap for financial services – would materialise.

Former treasurer and chairman of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, Peter Costello, said he welcomed a “carefully calibrated speech” from the Chinese President, which was designed to say China is committed to openness.

“The eyes of the world were on his response today and he could have come out and talked about how we will escalate this, but he didn’t,” Costello said.

Costello said he hoped “we hear similar sentiments coming out of Washington in response”.

Costello is the most senior former Australian government official at Boao, with no Turnbull government ministers attending amid strained relations between Australia and China.

He said Australia shouldn’t “take sides in other people’s trade wars”, but it was in the global interest to protect the rules-based system.

“Australia is a trading nation, but we are not a super power. Our interest is very much in having an open, rules-based system. If there are trade complaints, the World Trade Organisation is there to hear them. Countries shouldn’t act unilaterally outside that. Big powers might be able to do that ... but medium sized powers like Australia won’t be able to act unilaterally.”

Mr Trump has bypassed the WTO and used a national security investigation into allegations of Chinese intellectual property theft to demand that China reduce its trade surplus by $US100 billion.

“China does not seek a trade surplus,” said Mr Xi on Tuesday.

China had a “genuine desire” to expand its imports and will “considerably reduce auto import tariffs”, he said.

“We will work hard to import more products that are competitive and needed by our people.”

Xi said the opening up of the insurance industry would be accelerated, and the last remaining manufacturing areas to be liberalised – automotive, ships and aircraft – would take the next step with a relaxation of restrictions on foreign shareholdings.

Xi said opening China’s financial sector would make it more competitive. China’s decision to open up further was driven by its own need for development.

China would also crackdown on intellectual property violations, Xi promised.

But he also made a demand of the United States: “We hope developed countries will stop imposing restrictions on normal and reasonable trade of hi-tech products and relax export controls on such trade with China.”

China championed self-reliance while embracing openness, he said.