China says Xi's pledge to further open economy and lower tariffs unrelated to U.S. trade tensions

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that President Xi Jinping's pledge to further open the country's economy and lower import tariffs on certain products were unrelated to China-U.S. trade tensions.

Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comment at a daily news briefing, adding that China's opening up ran to its own timetable and cannot be influenced by outside forces.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Philip Wen; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)