The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping has concluded an economic and business dialogue with representatives of the International Business Community.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Beijing, April 1, 2025: President Xi during the meeting linked China rapid development and entry into the global market to its Reform and Opening-Up policy.
The business dialogue was held on March 28, 2025, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Mr. Xi explained that China aims at strengthening business and diplomatic relations with the world.
The Chinese President noted that China aim is strengthening global economic growth and contributing to national business investment, especially in the areas of China electrical innovation, which is gradually addressing pollution.
The dialogue brought together more than 40 global Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of foreign businesses as well as representatives of business councils.
Some of the notable in the roundtable conversation included but not limited to, the President of the FedEx Corporation Rajesh Subramaniam, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG Ola Källenius, Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi SA Paul Hudson, Executive Director of HSBC Holdings Plc. Georges Elhedery, President of Hitachi Ltd. Toshiaki Higashihara, President of SK Hynix Inc. Kwak Noh-Jung, and President of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser spoke at the meeting.
In his welcome remarks, President Xi welcomed the leaders to China and commended them for their long-standing commitment and cooperation with China.
The Chinese leader attributed his country’s rapid economic growth and enduring social stability created over the past seven decades since the founding of the People’s Republic to reforms and opening.
President Xi further attributed China’s growth to the strong leadership of the CCP as well as the unity and hard work of the Chinese people, and to support and help from the international community, including the contribution of foreign businesses operating in China.
He named the reform and opening up policy of China as important vehicle which help the country in actively leveraging foreign capital, adding that China was able to rapidly enter the global market and catch up with the times in great strides due to the policy.
“Foreign businesses and investment in China have driven economic growth and employment; boosted technological and managerial progress; and facilitated reform and opening up. All of this shows that foreign businesses are important participants in the Chinese modernization drive, in the country’s reform, opening and innovation, and in its interconnectivity with the world and integration into economic globalization. In this process, foreign businesses have thrived and generally enjoyed handsome returns, achieved win-win results, and forged profound friendship with the Chinese people” he disclosed.
President Xi pointed out that China has been a major contributor to and anchor of stability for global growth for many years.
President Xi emphasized that the third plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee made a road map and timetable for further reforming the regulatory framework for inbound and outbound investment.
China, he maintained, will open up wider by focusing on lowering the threshold of market access; ensure equal national treatment for foreign businesses and uphold fair market competition; strengthen communication with foreign businesses, provide as much convenience as possible for them to trade and invest in China, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign businesses in accordance with law.
At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and strive to create an enabling environment for foreign businesses.
President Xi pointed out that multilateralism is the only choice for addressing global challenges, and economic globalization is an unstoppable trend of history.
China upholds true multilateralism, promotes universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy. Foreign businesses, especially multinational companies, play an important role and bear significant responsibility for maintaining the global economic order. They are expected to safeguard the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, protect the international environment for openness and cooperation, and advance economic globalization in the right direction.
For their part, the International Business Community commended China for achieving steady economic growth through deep, comprehensive reform and high standard opening up under the leadership of President Xi.
From “Made in China” to “new quality productive forces,” China has empowered industrial transformation and upgrading through innovation, and is set to realize higher-quality and more sustainable development.
The outlook of the Chinese economy is strong. Amidst growing protectionism, China has continuously expanded opening, injecting stability into the global economy, and has become an oasis of certainty and a hot spot for investment and entrepreneurship. China’s development is the core driving force of the global economy, and offers exciting, vast opportunities and growth potential.
They applauded the Chinese government’s efforts to create a fair and enabling environment for foreign businesses and expressed readiness to expand investment cooperation with China, cultivate the China market, actively participate in Chinese modernization, and build bridges for China’s exchanges and cooperation with the world.
They also expressed readiness to support an open global market, uphold international free trade, and contribute to the development of the world economy. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah
