Time to safeguard global free trade

If President Xi Jinping's speech was highly anticipated by those attending the Boao Forum for Asia, it was just as eagerly waited in Washington and Wall Street, as trade tensions have begun to penalize US markets.

In his keynote speech, Xi urged countries to stay committed to openness, connectivity and mutual benefits, build an open global economy, and reinforce cooperation within the G20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and other multilateral frameworks, with the ultimate goal being to make economic globalization "more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all".

Xi presented plans to further open up the Chinese economy, including lowering import tariffs for autos and other products, enforcement of the legal intellectual property rights of foreign companies, and improving the investment environment for international companies.