China tells top global CEOs it will ‘further open up’

Premier Li Keqiang vowed yesterday to further open up China’s economy during a meeting with CEOs of top global companies amid simmering trade tensions with the United States. During the meeting in Beijing with heads of 19 multinational companies, Li pledged to make China more attractive to foreign investors.

“We welcome more and more foreign investment to come to China,” Li told the group representing the Global CEO Council. “We will also relax (restrictions on) access to even more fields to create a market-oriented, law-based internationalised business environment.”

Among the industry leaders attending the meeting at Beijing’s opulent Great Hall of the People were Volkswagen head Herbert Diess, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Daimler’s Ola Kallenius, UPS chief executive David Abney, Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk and Nokia’s Rajeev Suri. Jean-Pascal Tricoire, head of Schneider Electric, told Li that foreign firms are the “best bridges” between China and the rest of the world.