GLOBAL development urgently needs an open economy and the China International Import Expo highlights China’s further opening-up, which is particularly important in the context of rising global trade tensions, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said yesterday.

“The openness to investments should not be taken just as absolute,” Grybauskaite told the parallel session on Trade and Investment, part of the CIIE.

Transparency, rule of law, and compliance with international rules also play a significant role, and are more important than the interests of any enterprise or conglomerate, she said.

The forum discussed ways to revitalize international trade and investment and inject sustained impetus into global economic growth.

Deputy Thai Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak also told the forum that the expo is constructive and innovative, demonstrating China’s sincerity and vision for promoting trade.

The CIIE comes at the right time , Somkid said.

It boosts people’s confidence in free trade at a time when the global economic situation is full of uncertainties and free trade is being challenged.

Executives of several companies and international organizations shared their thoughts on trade and investment during a panel discussion.

The moderator was Arancha Gonzalez, executive director of the International Trade Center, the joint agency of the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization.

Structural reforms will be a driving force for China’s development, which can help make the country’s economy more balanced and healthy, said panelist Zhu Min, chairman of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University.

Zhu said multilateralism is the only solution to global trade tensions.

Meanwhile, Jim Hackett, another panelist and president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, said he was optimistic that China and the United States would find a balance on the trade issues between the world’s two largest economies, despite the differences between them.