BOAO, China, March 30 (Reuters) – China is keen to open up the world’s second-largest economy and implement reforms that can help stimulate growth, Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday, adding that geopolitical tensions are only holding back development around the world .
Li’s comments at an international economic summit in the island province of Hainan are his latest calls for Beijing to bolster its economic recovery amid strained relations with the United States and its allies, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to tech exports and Taiwan.
His comments were delivered at a podium alongside the prime ministers of Malaysia, Singapore and Spain, all of whom have close trade and diplomatic ties with Beijing.
“No matter what changes take place in the world, we will always adhere to reform and opening-up,” Li, who took office this month, told the panel at the annual Boao Forum.
“We will introduce a series of new measures to expand market access and optimize the business environment… Peace is a prerequisite for development,” he said.
The COVID containments plagued China’s economy for three years before being dropped in December, and Li said there were signs a recovery was taking hold.
China has set a modest target for gross domestic product growth of about 5% this year after falling well short of its 2022 target. That’s less than what the International Monetary Fund and some private forecasters believe it can achieve.
“Judging by the situation in March, it’s better than in January and February. In particular, key economic indicators such as consumption and investment continue to improve, while employment and prices are generally stable,” Li said.
In veiled comments aimed at the United States, which is working with its allies to impede China’s access to advanced technologies like microchips, Li said Beijing opposes trade protectionism and decoupling.
Relations between the two superpowers have been strained for years and soured last month after the United States shot down a high-altitude balloon off the US east coast that it said was a Chinese spy ship.
Another focus of US-China rivalry has been Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its territory.
In the latest escalation, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday for the first of two US stops, which Beijing described as provocative.
In his speech, Li said that “chaos and conflicts” must not happen in Asia and that China would act as an “anchor” for global peace.
Reporting by Joe Cash and Shuyan Wang; writing by Kevin Yao; Edited by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry
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Joe Cash
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