Urethane Blog
China Responds to Record Trade Surplus
March 22, 2026
China vows more open economy in bid to boost confidence
ByLiam Mo and Ryan Woo
March 22 2026 – 8:00am
China has faced tensions with major trading partners over its record $A1.7 trillion trade surplus. Photo: EPA PHOTO
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has pledged to further open up the economy and fully implement national treatment for foreign enterprises as the country seeks to reassure the outside world amid rising global trade tensions.
China will import more high-quality foreign goods and work with all parties to promote optimised and balanced trade development and expand the global trade pie, Li told the China Development Forum in Beijing, state media reported on Sunday.
The annual two-day forum, which concludes on Monday, allows Beijing to lay out its economic vision and investment opportunities to foreign business leaders, Chinese officials, economists and academics.
This year’s gathering comes as the world’s second-largest economy faces rising tensions with major trading partners over 2025’s record $US1.2 ($A1.7) trillion trade surplus.
Premier Li Qiang says China is committed to being a “harbour of stability” for the world economy. (EPA PHOTO)
Challenges for Beijing are aplenty, including deflecting concerns from an increasing number of global capitals about China’s trade practices and overcapacity, as well as their overreliance on key Chinese products.
While Li’s speech did not appear to directly mention the surplus, his pledges indicate an awareness that the issue could disrupt international relations at a time when China has reached a temporary truce with the US on trade.
US President Donald Trump last week postponed a trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping due to the Iran war, delaying an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
In a separate speech at the forum, China’s central bank governor Pan Gongsheng also sought to alleviate concerns surrounding the trade surplus.
“Analysing global economic imbalances requires looking not only at trade in goods but also services, and not only at the current account but also the financial account,” Pan said, according to a transcript of his speech published by the People’s Bank of China, adding that China is the country with the largest goods surplus but also the largest services deficit.
China has no need and no intention to gain trade competitive advantage through currency depreciation, Pan said.
Senior executives attending include those from Apple, Samsung Electronics, Volkswagen, chipmaker Broadcom Inc, industrial conglomerate Siemens, chemical producer BASF and pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
There were no Japanese company executives on the guest list on the forum’s website.
said foreign firms would be treated in the same way as domestic ones, allowing enterprises from all countries to develop with confidence and realise their ambitions in China.
In a separate meeting, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told business leaders from a US pharmaceutical trade group and executives from five major multinational drug companies that China would strengthen intellectual property protection and improve policy transparency.
Australian Associated Press
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