Govt remains committed to economic opening-up: Vice-premier

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli delivers a speech at the China Development Forum in Beijing, March 19, 2017. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

China remains committed to its stance of economic opening-up and further improve the business environment for foreign investors, said Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli on Sunday.

"China will push for more opening-up," he told participants of the China Development Forum.

China's economic exchanges with the outside world will continue to increase, he said. In the next five years, the country's trade volume will reach $8 trillion and its actually utilized direct foreign investment will hit $600 billion, he said, adding that Chinese enterprises and individuals are expected to make outbound direct investment of $750 billion in the same period while the number of Chinese tourists going abroad is expected to reach 700 million.

Zhang urged the nation to continue to restructure its economy, shifting focus to innovation, strategically emerging industries, and advanced manufacturing. Meanwhile, the country must safeguard financial security and "put prevention of financial risks higher on its agenda". He warned against the trend of funds flowing into the real estate sector and said if it is not well managed, there could be the problem of asset bubbles.

But Zhang remained upbeat about the prospects of the Chinese economy. "So long as our real economy continues to expand and our financial system does not encounter systematic risks, we're confident that the Chinese economy will not have major problems and can achieve sustainable and healthy growth."

Zhang also said the road of global economic recovery has been bumpy in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. Structural reform is needed to solve the deep-rooted problems of the world economy, he said.

He said China has made relentless efforts to reform its economic structure and contributed to global economic recovery, he said, adding that China contributed to about 30 percent of global growth in 2016 while contribution of Asia as a whole was about 50 percent.

The China Development Forum opens in Beijing, March 19, 2017. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]