Chinese Premier Li derides trade restrictions, pledges to make global trade fairer

SHANGHA: Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday trade restrictions have created barriers to doing business and that China would work to reform the global economic and trading system and make trade rules fairer, more reasonable and transparent.

Li was speaking at the opening of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai which runs from November 5-10.

The event was launched under President Xi Jinping in 2018 to promote China’s free trade credentials and counter criticism of its trade surplus with many countries, though its trade surpluses with other markets have only grown in the years since.

While China’s supply of manufactured goods to the world is growing, its contribution to global demand is less significant, with imports barely growing - a dynamic economists have said fuels trade tension abroad and deflationary pressure back home.

China’s trade surplus is set to exceed last year’s record of roughly $1 trillion as exporters offset a plunge in U.S. sales due to higher U.S. tariffs by selling more to the rest of the world, often at a loss in pursuit of market share.

Exports to the U.S. fell about 27% in September versus the same month a year prior, while shipments for the European Union, Southeast Asia and Africa grew 14%, 16% and 56% respectively.

Li referred to the role tariffs have played in global trade this year, “making headlines” and making the need to strengthen global governance of trade “urgent”.

Last week, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump met in South Korea to reach a trade truce.

The U.S. agreed to reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods and pause some export controls, and China agreed to pause new export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and resume purchases of American soybeans.

More than 155 countries, regions and organisations plan to participate in this year’s CIIE, the commerce ministry said. Over 4,100 overseas enterprises will take part, with U.S. companies maintaining the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year.