BEIJING, April 11 (INP): In a world troubled by grave uncertainties over growing protectionism, the annual conference of Boao Forum for Asia concluded on Tuesday, injecting new vitality into globalization and free trade. President Xi has set out his defense of globalization at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last year, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

President Xi reassured the world that China remains open for business

The BFA annual conference was President Xi's first home-court diplomacy after he took his second term in March, where he reassured the world that China remains open for business. China's market liberalization effort in 2018 would exceed the expectations of the global community, senior Chinese official Liu He told the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

"We live in a fast changing world, and the global economy is undergoing more profound changes. We must therefore closely follow the trend of the global economy, identify its underlying dynamics, keep to the right direction, and, on that basis, take bold action,"

Xi told the APEC CEO Summit last year. Hints of Xi's reform ideas could be found at the first meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform in late March which Xi presided over.

"The launch of deeper reform of the Party and state institutions marks a new stage for deepening reform in all areas,"

he said. "The reform will further touch upon profound adjustment of interests patterns and changes of the system of institutions," Xi said, calling for efforts to strengthen and improve the Party's coordination and leadership.

Building a community with a shared future

The destinies of the Asian countries have never been so closely intertwined as they are in today's globalized world. To boost regional integration, Xi called for building a community with a shared future for Asia in his speech at the BFA annual conference 2015. Ready to share the dividends of its growth, China put forward the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 and led the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to address infrastructure needs across the continent.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is closely related to economic globalization and will enhance the competitiveness of Asia. That's why the initiative should be given priority and actively promoted among the Asian economies,"

reads the Asian competitiveness report. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project under the initiative, has not only improved local infrastructure but is extending toward Afghanistan, reducing poverty and bringing better prospects for local people. INP/J/AJ