Amid trade war with US, China promises to open markets for foreign players; lower car tariffs

China has reiterated its commitment to economic liberalisation amid its rising tensions with the United States over restricting their own trade relations. On Tuesday, April 10, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a major speech in a development conference on the Chinese island of Hainan that Beijing was all set to expand the scope of permitted business to foreign financial institutions and reduce tariffs on imported cars and ownership limits for foreign automobile companies.

Jinping's address came a few days after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods worth $150 billion in what has emerged as a tense trade war between the two largest economies of the world.

Both sides have already imposed tariffs on imports from each other's territories starting with Trump's announcement on the tariff on imported solar panels, washing machines followed by those on steel and aluminium.

Jinping vowed to cut auto tariffs along with taking other steps to open up Chinese economy to the outside world although his announcements were not entirely new. In November last year, China promised to slowly reduce tariffs on imported vehicles although it did not lay down a specific time frame to do so.