China's president urges foreign businesses to 'safeguard multilateral trading system'

ISLAMABAD

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged foreign business leaders to “safeguard the multilateral trading system” and said Beijing is committed to creating a favorable environment for foreign businesses.

Xi's remarks came amid US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports of goods from both Washington’s rivals and allies.

“Foreign businesses, especially multinational companies, play an important role and bear significant responsibility for maintaining the global economic order,” Xi said at a meeting with representatives from the international business community in Beijing, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

He added that foreign businesses are expected to safeguard the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, protect the international environment for openness and cooperation, and advance economic globalization in the right direction.

The meeting was attended by the CEOs of several multinational companies. These business leaders also participated in the China Development Forum, held in Beijing on March 23-24, while some also took part in the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025, which opened Thursday in Boao, Hainan Province.

Xi told the CEOs that investing in China means investing in the future, as Beijing has been and will continue to be an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors.

"At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and strive to create an enabling environment for foreign businesses," he said.

ISLAMABAD

Xi's remarks came amid US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports of goods from both Washington’s rivals and allies.

Xi told the CEOs that investing in China means investing in the future, as Beijing has been and will continue to be an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors.

"At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and strive to create an enabling environment for foreign businesses," he said.