Expo promotes high-quality development

China will promote higher-level opening-up by continuing to expand access to its market, increase imports, foster a world-class business environment, deepen multilateral and bilateral cooperation and jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. This is the promise President Xi Jinping made in his keynote speech at the second China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The world economy faces new, unprecedented challenges even before it has fully recovered from the global financial crisis. The International Monetary Fund has forecast global economic growth for 2019 at 3.0 percent - the slowest pace since 2008-09. Global trade, too, is slowing down, with the World Trade Organization forecasting global trade growth at a record low of 1.2 percent.

Stimulating global economic growth therefore remains as daunting a task as ever.