TMTPost -- Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged U.S. businesses to further invest in China as the leader highlighted commitment to economic reform and opening up and promising recovery outlook.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

In his meeting with representatives of the U.S. business, strategic and academic communities in Beijing on Wednesday, Xi expressed the hope that people from all sectors of Chinese and American societies will have more mutual visits and exchanges, expand common ground and mutual trust, overcome various distractions, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, in an effort to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples and inject more stability into the world, reported state media Xinhua News Agency.

Xi quoted a Chinese saying that “doing good is as hard as an uphill climb, while a misstep may easily lead to a free fall” to underscore importance of mutual efforts for improvement of bilateral relationship. As China and the United States enter the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Xi noted that the China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, and whether the two counties have a cooperative or confrontational relationship bears on the well-being of the Chinese and American peoples and the future of humanity."The two countries' respective success is an opportunity for each other. As long as both sides see each other as partners and show mutual respect, coexist in peace and cooperate for win-win results, China-U.S. relations will get better," Xi said.

Xi slapped pessimism on China’s economic outlook. China did not collapse as predicted by the "China collapse theory," nor will it peak as forecasted by the "China peak theory," Xi said. The Chinese president pointed out that the Chinese economy is sound and sustainable, and China registered one of the highest growth rates among the major economies last year, accounting for over 30 percent of global growth as before. He attributed the achievement to the hard work of the Chinese people and international cooperation. "We will continue to advance high-quality development and Chinese modernization, enable the Chinese people to live a better life, and contribute more to sustainable development in the world. We have the confidence and determination that China's development has a bright future," he said.

Xi reiterated reform and opening up holds the key to contemporary China's catching up with the times in great strides. He said China's reform will not pause, and its opening up will not stop. Moreover, he said China is planning and implementing a series of major steps for comprehensively deepening reform, and steadily fostering a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment. This will create broader development space for U.S. and other foreign businesses. The Chinese president said U.S. businesses are welcome to participate more in Belt and Road cooperation, attend large-scale business events such as the China International Import Expo, and continue to invest in China, cultivate the market and grow their business.

Xinhua didn’t specify the whole list of U.S. participants, while the report noted  Evan Greenberg, chairman of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council made their remarks during the meet.  They expressed confidence that China will realize its development goals and contribute to a stronger, more integrated global economy and believe a strong and prosperous China is a positive force in the world, according to the report. American business, strategic and academic communities support the United States and China in bolstering exchanges and communication at all levels, enhancing mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, joining hands to address global challenges, and fostering a stable, sustainable and productive U.S.-China relationship, the report cited representatives.

Xi’s meet followed a two-day China Development Forum (CDF),  an annual high-level event hosted by the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet. Themed "The Continuous Development of China," this year's CDF focuses on various issues, ranging from China's growth drivers and prospects, carbon neutrality, big health, digital transformation of industries, to new consumption. More than 400 people attended the forum, including experts from home and abroad, government officials,  representatives from international organizations and entrepreneurs such as top executives of Apple, Qualcomm, McKinsey, AstraZeneca, L'Oreal.

In his keynote speech delivered at the opening ceremony of CDF, China’s Premier Li Qiang the Chinese government has always regarded respect for the market and services for enterprises as an important focus in planning economic work, and has always been an advocate and a good companion for the development of enterprises. Li said China will take practical and effective actions to promote high-quality development and inject more certainty and positive energy into the recovery and stable development of the world economy. The premier pledged efforts to intensify macro-policy adjustments, expand domestic demand, promote a new type of people-centered urbanization, and advance large-scale equipment renewal and trade-ins of durable consumer goods.China will continue to promote industrial innovation through scientific and technological innovation, accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, and push forward green transformation, while also addressing both symptoms and root causes of challenges to prevent and defuse risks and hidden dangers, Li said.