China’s Xi Jinping vows to open service sector to boost cross-border trade and investment
- Chinese President Xi Jinping says country will ease market access in areas such as telecoms, tourism, law and vocational exams
- However, Beijing must bring domestic standards in line with international norms and address national security concerns before opening up, expert says
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China will open wider in several service industries to promote cross-border trade and investment, President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.
Zhao Xijun, a finance professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said boosting services trade and opening the sector would be a challenge for China as they involved different standards adopted by different countries and cultures.
“China has a great market for various services, including telecoms, law, tourism and vocational exams. However, the government has a lot of work to do to align domestic standards with international norms,” Zhao said.
“In addition, there are national security concerns to address. Before a full opening up of the service sector, a mechanism for dispute resolution must be worked out,” he said.
China has faced a sluggish domestic economic recovery since ending its rigid Covid-19 restrictions in December.
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