China’s Xi vows to ‘open wider’ while defending jobs

BEIJING (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping vowed to further free up China’s economy, again urging Asian countries to work closely together in a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Vietnam.

The comments echo Xi’s call to support a “multilateral trading system” and contrast with those delivered at the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump, who pulled out of the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and told the meeting the U.S. would pursue bilateral trade deals instead.

Xi said his government would continue to prioritize domestic employment and ensure economic development at home “supports job creation”, according to a text of his remarks published by the official Xinhua news agency late on Saturday.

“China will open still wider and its development will deliver even greater benefits to the rest of the world,” Xi told the APEC leaders.

China has created 13 million new jobs in cities and towns in recent years, Xi added.

“Economic restructuring does not have to come at the expense of employment,” Xi said. “On the contrary, stable employment would allow greater leeway for reform and development.”

(This story has been refiled to include the timing of Xinhua’s publication.)

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.