Xi seeks deeper ties, says China will keep opening service firms to world

China will continue to open up its services market to global firms, President Xi Jinping said, as he sought deeper economic coordination with other nations.

“Opening up and cooperating in service industries is increasingly becoming a major driver for development,” Xi said Friday in a video speech to open a services trade fair in Beijing.

Xi reiterated that China would develop a “negative list” for services industries, which would allow foreign firms to enter areas that aren’t on the list. He did not say when the list would be released.

China’s Xi Calls for Open Environment for Services Trade

Xi added that China was willing to deepen economic policy coordination with other nations as they face the challenges of stabilizing their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

China has been gradually opening up various domestic markets to investment from foreign firms. Xi’s comments come on top of the increased access for foreign firms to the financial services market that was part of the deal signed with the U.S. in January.

Even as relations with the U.S. deteriorate and some foreign governments are starting to push their firms to take investments out of China, the Chinese government is still looking to encourage even more foreign direct investment. The new strategy of ‘dual circulation’ calls for increasing foreign investment, while focusing on expanding the domestic market.

— With assistance by James Mayger, Feifei Shen, and Lin Zhu