China vows to further expand opening-up

China reaffirmed on Thursday its commitment to further expanding high-standard opening-up and domestic demand, sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, and welcoming businesses from all countries to further tap the Chinese market amid global challenges.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, made the remarks in a keynote speech at a plenary meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026.

Running from Tuesday to Friday in Boao, Hainan province, with the theme of "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation", the conference has drawn more than 1,600 representatives from political, business, think tank and media circles from over 60 countries and regions.

Zhao noted that in today's world, geopolitical conflicts and regional wars keep flaring up, unilateralism and protectionism are gaining ground, hegemonism and power politics pose growing threats, and the outdated mindset of civilizational estrangement and bloc confrontation is resurfacing.

"People across the world are yearning more urgently for peace and development, and their call for fairness and justice has grown stronger," he said, calling on countries to reject conflict and confrontation, closed-door exclusion, bullying and coercion, as well as suspicion and estrangement.

China will continue to unlock the potential of its enormous market of more than 1.4 billion people by expanding investment and consumption in sectors such as telecommunications, education, healthcare, elderly care and child care, he added.

Zhao also stressed China's commitment to innovation-driven development, free trade and law-based governance on all fronts, saying that the country will steadily expand institutional opening-up, deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and protect the lawful rights and interests of foreign investors.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who also addressed the plenary meeting, said that China's vast domestic market can serve as a powerful engine of growth for the region.

"Looking ahead, Singapore has confidence in China's long-term prospects. That is why we have been a leading source of new investments into China for more than a decade. We will continue to partner China closely, and deepen collaboration in areas of mutual benefit as both our economies evolve," he said.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said in a video address that his country aims to concretize industrial, technological and investment cooperation with China and turn it into tangible outcomes. He added that he hopes the two countries "will jointly create a cooperative model that contributes not only to both nations but also to the global economy".

Hannah Qiu, senior vice-president and China CEO of PayPal, said the multinational financial technology company from the United States has benefited from China's opening-up of its financial sector.

As the first foreign payment company with a wholly owned subsidiary in China, PayPal is committed to deepening its presence in the country, continuing to help Chinese businesses "go global" by providing them with a compliant, end-to-end payment solution, Qiu said.

She added that as a testament to PayPal's focus on China, the company introduced the streamlined payment and financial services platform PayPal Open in China in September to facilitate Chinese merchants' sales overseas.

Speaking at a symposium in Boao on Thursday attended by representatives of Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs, Peter Burnett, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council, said the council welcomes China's emphasis on services as a focal point of high-level opening-up over the next five years. He said this will create new opportunities for cooperation, given the United Kingdom's strength in the services sector, and he spoke highly of China's decision to encourage more imports and welcomed the Export to China initiative.

Tony Pusic, AstraZeneca's senior vice-president of regional supply for the Asia-Pacific region and Japan, said China's emphasis on biomedicine as one of the strategic emerging industries and its opening-up commitment are bringing significant opportunities for multinationals.