Xi vows to further open China economy as US trade spat simmers

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to lower car tariffs this year and take other steps to open the world's number two economy "wider and wider", addressing major complaints by the United States in a simmering trade row.

Xi's remarks follow weeks of tit-for-tat tariffs and mutual threats of more levies on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products between Beijing and Washington that have raised fears of a trade war that could lacerate the global economy.

While he did not directly mention US President Donald Trump's trade demands, Xi told an economic forum on the southern island of Hainan that Beijing "does not seek a trade surplus" and hopes to increase imports.

Xi also used the speech to address global security and development, saying that "Cold War mentality and zero-sum games are becoming increasingly obsolete and outdated."

Promising a "new phase of opening up", he said China will "considerably lower" tariffs on cars and other products this year, take measures to liberalise automobile investment, and protect intellectual property -- all areas that have been high on the list of demands by Washington.

"Economic globalisation is an irreversible trend of the time," Xi told the Boao Forum for Asia.

"The door of China's opening up will not close, it will only open wider and wider."

But he gave few details nor an exact date for implementing the measures, which were mostly recycled from previous pledges.

The car tariffs were the target of a Trump tweet Monday, saying China charges much higher levies than the United States: "Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE -- going on for years!"

Xi's speech buoyed world markets, with Asian stocks closing higher and European shares up at the opening after being hammered by the trade row in recent weeks.