Govt to maintain focus on high-level opening-up, Li says

China will continue to expand high-level opening-up and work harder to keep it an appealing destination for foreign investment, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

China will maintain the course of wider openness, no matter how the international environment may change, Li told reporters in Beijing after the conclusion of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

He said China has all along developed itself in the course of reform and opening-up for anything conducive to its higher-level opening-up, saying opening-up has broad benefits to the country and its people.

Li noted, as far as China's opening-up policy is concerned, there has been no change in its position, and nor will there be a change.

He said if there will be any change, the change will be conducive to China's greater openness to promoting international exchanges, trade, and investment.

Li said foreign investors coming to do business in China have developed themselves while bringing investment, sales channels, and goods for Chinese consumers.

According to him, to further improve the regulation and refine government services, the Chinese government is opposed to monopoly and unfair or illegitimate competition, and it will prevent the unregulated expansion of capital.

He said this is part of the support for law-abiding businesses, and it is also part of the efforts to ensure a level playing field for all market entities and ensure that they will have fair competition and healthy growth in a well-regulated way.

Citing official data, Li said China's economy has deeply integrated into the world economy, with its imports and exports in goods contributing to one-third of China's GDP.

For the past 10 years, China has remained the world's second-largest import market. And for the past 5 years, China has remained the world's largest trader in goods.

Noting that Chinese goods and industries are still transitioning from a lower-middle end of the industrial chain to a medium-high end, He said Chinese industries and consumption are in the process of upgrading. Thus there is tremendous potential and broad space for the growth of all types of investment.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, the world's largest trade deal, has officially entered into force this year.

Li said China will make the most of the opportunity of RCEP and continue to advance free trade.

China will treat State-owned enterprises, privately held firms and foreign-invested enterprises as equals and continue to work hard to keep China a popular destination for global foreign investment, Li added.