China remains committed to being a cornerstone of certainty and a harbor of stability for the world when unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, power politics runs rampant and international rules and order face serious challenges, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Sunday in his keynote speech at the opening session of the China Development Forum 2026.
Themed "China in its 15th Five-Year Plan Period: Advancing High-Quality Development and Creating New Opportunities Together," the two-day event in Beijing convenes global business leaders and scholars to explore shared opportunities emerging from China's pursuit of high-quality growth.
Noting protectionism is not a panacea, Li underlined the need to uphold openness, pursue an enterprising spirit, expand free trade, and promote innovation to create incremental market shares rather than grab the existing markets.
China's import and export constitute fair trade conducted within the framework of rules, Li said, adding China will firmly advance high-standard opening up, import more quality products, and work with all parties to promote optimized and balanced development of trade and enlarge the global economic and trade pie.
Li urged benign competition and cooperation for win-win results. China opposes disorderly and irrational vicious competition, and believes under market economy conditions, healthy competition can stimulate greater development momentum, he said.
The premier stressed that China's competitive advantages in related industries are achieved through persistent efforts to deepen reforms, promote innovation-driven development, and most importantly, through hard work and diligence of the Chinese people and enterprises rather than subsidies and protection.
China will continue its efforts to maintain a fair and competitive market order and is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties to jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains safe and stable, he said.
Li called on the international community to shoulder responsibilities, take action and forge ahead with confidence. He said the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) is not only a new blueprint for China's development, but also a new opportunity for the world's development.
China will focus on promoting high-quality development and maintaining stable economic growth, while creating a favorable business environment and ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded companies, so that companies coming to China can develop with confidence and achieve great success, he said.
Sunday's opening session was attended by approximately 750 representatives from Chinese and international business communities, including New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Zou Jiayi.
