Beijing — President Xi Jinping vowed on Wednesday to further open China’s economy to the world, but foreign companies and investors who have complained of “promise fatigue” called for action rather than words. Xi made his pledge in a speech to open the week-long Communist Party congress, which will hand him a new five-year term as general secretary. “Openness brings progress for ourselves, seclusion leaves one behind. China will not close its doors to the world, we will only become more and more open,” Xi told about 2,300 party delegates in Beijing. Xi vowed to “protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors” and said “all businesses registered in China will be treated equally”. The Chinese leader has tried to cast himself as a champion of globalisation as the US retreats behind President Donald Trump’s America First policy. But US and European firms still complain about being barred from certain sectors and forced to share their technology with local competitors t...
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