At the trade fair, China promises to reduce investment barriers in the face of the economic downturn

Chinese Premier Li Qiang vowed on Sunday to reduce trade barriers and attract more foreign investment, as the world’s second-largest economy weakens amid a crisis in the real estate sector and the country’s deteriorating business environment has dampened sentiment among many foreign companies.

Li said at the opening ceremony of a major trade fair in Shanghai that Beijing will work with all countries to “build an open economy together” as the global economic recovery lacks momentum. President Xi Jinping also sent a letter to the event, promising that China would continue its “high-level opening-up.”

Xi’s message was read out by Vice Premier He Lifeng at the start of the sixth annual China International Import Expo. More than 3,400 companies from 128 countries and regions took part in the trade fair, which ran until Friday.

Li added that China’s imports of goods and services are expected to reach $17 trillion in the next five years.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the opening ceremony of a major trade fair in Shanghai on Nov. 5, 2023. (Kyodo)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is visiting China and is his country’s first head of state in around seven years, said at the ceremony that the economies of Australia and China were “complementary in nature” and pledged to “work together constructively.” to build stronger bilateral relations.

In a sign of improving bilateral relations that were strained during the administration of Albanese’s predecessor Scott Morrison, China lifted its import restrictions on Australian coal and barley and reviewed tariffs imposed on Australian wine imports. Beijing is Canberra’s largest trading partner.

Amid concerns about Beijing’s tightened counterintelligence law as well as U.S. restrictions on semiconductors and other high-tech items exported to China, foreign direct investment in the Asian country turned negative in the July-September period for the first time since comparable data became available in 1998, as official data showed.

As China and the United States prepare for a leaders’ summit in San Francisco later this month, the federal government attended the import fair for the first time.

From Japan, companies such as Panasonic Holdings Corp., cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. and Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing Co. took part in the event.

The government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organization exhibited over 650 items from around 150 Japanese companies, including food, alcohol and confectionery, as well as items related to camping, pets and winter sports, to help companies expand their sales channels in China.

Japanese food exports to China were hit by the release of treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that began in late August. Beijing has imposed a total ban on imports of seafood from Japan and customs procedures for other foods have been delayed.

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