Reform, opening-up not for expediency

To those who doubt the country's commitment to economic openness, President Xi Jinping gave his personal assurance that rather than close its doors to the rest of the world, China will open them further, in his Tuesday speech at the Boao Forum for Asia.

Beijing has been consistent in its loyalty to reform and opening-up, the 40-year-old formula of miraculous growth. Yet the rest of the world is anxious for credible evidence that its allegiance to that course was not wavering on encountering headwinds.

What President Xi unveiled in Boao - from greatly loosening market access to creating an investor-friendly domestic market, enhancing intellectual property rights protection and increasing imports - is more than a pleasant surprise, and confirmation that its course remains unchanged. It is a fitting tribute to the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, and an all-win prescription for many of the problems between Beijing and its overseas partners.