Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that China's economy will exceed 170 trillion yuan ($23.87 trillion) by 2030, presenting a big market opportunity for the world as trade restrictions rise globally.
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai (5 November), Li criticised tariffs and said that China wanted to reform the global economic trading system to make it more reasonable and transparent, especially for developing countries.
Tariffs are "seriously undermining international economic and trade rules, and also disrupting the normal operation of enterprises in various countries," he said, without mentioning the United States.
"In five years, China's economy is expected to exceed 170 trillion yuan, which will make new and important contributions to global economic growth," Li added.
China has said its GDP will top 140 trillion yuan this year, and the projection by 2030 is in line with proposals for its upcoming five-year plan that predicted annual growth of 4.17% over the next five years.
CIIE was launched under President Xi Jinping in 2018 to promote China's free trade credentials and counter criticism of its trade surplus with many countries.
But the expo has its sceptics, as the country's trade surpluses with other markets have only grown in the years since.
While China's supply of manufactured goods to the world is growing, its contribution to global demand is less significant, with imports barely growing - a dynamic economists have said fuels trade tension abroad and deflationary pressure back home.
China and U.S. relations
Global trade this year has been heavily disrupted by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and have launched the U.S. and China into a fresh trade war that has ebbed and flowed in tit-for-tat actions through this year.
Last week, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump met in South Korea to reach a trade truce. The U.S. agreed to reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods and pause some export controls, and China agreed to pause new export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and resume purchases of American soybeans.
But analysts say it may be no more than a fragile truce in a trade war with root causes still unresolved.
Li in his speech said China wanted to increase its imports of high quality products and repeatedly stressed that it was open to business and trade.
"Let enterprises from all over the world develop in China with more peace of mind, more comfort and more confidence," he said.
China's trade surplus is set to exceed last year's record of roughly $1 trillion as exporters offset a plunge in U.S. sales due to higher U.S. tariffs by selling more to the rest of the world, often at a loss in pursuit of market share.
Exports to the U.S. fell about 27% in September versus the same month a year prior, while shipments for the European Union, Southeast Asia and Africa grew 14%, 16% and 56% respectively.
More than 155 countries, regions and organisations plan to participate in this year's CIIE, the commerce ministry said. More than 4,100 overseas enterprises will take part, with U.S. companies maintaining the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year.
The United States has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery programme, commonly known as the Green Card lottery, after a deadly shooting at Brown Unive...
The long-running geopolitical tug-of-war over the world’s most popular short-form video application appears to have reached its finale, resolving a ...
Congressional Democrats have released dozens of new images from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, increasing pressure on the US Justice Department a day bef...
Kyrgyzstan is increasingly being described as one of the fastest growing economies in Central Asia....
Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across Bangladesh after violent protests erupted overnight over the killing of a prominent youth lea...
The United States has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery programme, commonly known as the Green Card lottery, after a deadly shooting at Brown University.
Kyrgyzstan is increasingly being described as one of the fastest growing economies in Central Asia.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s first official visit to Japan marks a notable moment in relations between the two countries, reflecting a shared interest in deepening cooperation.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets on Thursday evening to protest against the outgoing government, demanding fair elections and judicial reforms to address what they describe as widespread corruption.
European Union leaders have agreed to raise up to €90 billion through joint borrowing to support Ukraine’s defence in 2026 and 2027, opting not to use frozen Russian state assets amid legal and political concerns.
Petroleum products are being transported by rail from Azerbaijan to Armenia for the first time in decades. The move is hailed as a tangible breakthrough in efforts to normalise relations between the long-time rivals.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that attempts to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine are being undermined by Russia’s continued refusal to engage meaningfully in negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a wide-ranging address from the White House in which he sought to highlight what he described as his administration’s achievements while laying the groundwork for his plans for the year ahead and beyond, on Wednesday (18 December).
Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile bid on Wednesday (17 December), citing insufficient financing guarantees.
Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile bid on Wednesday (17 December), citing insufficient financing guarantees.
Ford Motor Company said on Monday it will take a $19.5 billion writedown and scrap several electric vehicle (EV) models, marking a major retreat from its battery-powered ambitions amid declining EV demand and changes under the Trump administration.
Iran has rolled out changes to how fuel is priced at the pump. The move is aimed at managing demand without triggering public anger.
U.S. stock markets closed lower at the end of the week, as investors continued to rotate out of technology shares, putting pressure on major indices.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% following its two-day policy meeting, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday, 10 December.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment