Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed some 40 world leaders at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing, but his speech may have been aimed at a head of state not in the audience: US President Donald Trump.
Xi spent a large portion of his speech Friday addressing Chinese domestic reforms, pledging to address state subsidies, protect intellectual property rights, allow foreign investment in more sectors and avoid competitive devaluation of the yuan. All four are issues the US is addressing in trade talks with Beijing.
“We will establish a binding enforcement system for international agreements,” Xi said, adding that China will standardize all levels of government in terms of issuing administrative licenses and market regulation, and also “eliminate improper rules, subsidies and practices that impede fair competition and distort the market.”
