Vice-Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, speaks at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. (PANG XINGLEI/XINHUA)
He pledged that China will further widen market access for foreign investors, import more goods and services, improve the business environment, foster new drivers of opening-up, and strengthen multilateral and bilateral cooperation.
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, praised China for its economic growth.
"China has made tremendous efforts, progress and achievements in the 70 years since the founding (of the People's Republic), and in particular the last 40 years of reform and opening-up," he said before introducing Han to the audience.
Schwab said that he is increasingly impressed by how China plays a responsive and responsible role in international affairs.
In Davos, Han attended a lunch hosted by Schwab where he met and exchanged views with business leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser, and Carlyle Group Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman David Rubenstein and Swire Group CEO Merlin Bingham Swire.
Markus Berni, a lawyer at Zurich-based Baker& McKenzie, said Han's speech "was assuring". "That was basically what we expect from a Chinese representative," he said.
Kenneth Goldman, president of Hillspire, LLC, based in California in the United States, said: "China has been doing a much better job in eliminating poverty, taking care of its people and providing for folks compared with some other countries.
"I think China has a lot of momentum… and the country has a lot to be proud of," he said.
Hussain Dawood, chairman of Dawood Hercules Group, a Pakistan-based company, said China's role in the world is a very responsible one.
He praised the Chinese leadership's initiative to develop the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.
"That shows you the thinking of the Chinese leadership, the long-term thinking. Brilliant, brilliant," Dawood said after hearing Han's speech.
