Premier Li Promises Fairer Treatment and Better Balanced Trade at China Development Forum 2026
The 2026 edition of the annual China Development Forum (#CDF) opened in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on 22 March 2026. The theme for this edition is: “China in its 15th Five-Year Plan: Advancing High-Quality Development and Creating New Opportunities Together.” The Forum is a unique opportunity for global CxOs to interact with top Chinese government officials and gain insight into where the Chinese economy is heading.
China’s Premier LI Qiang delivered the welcome keynote address to a full house of foreign guests handpicked from the Fortune 500. Some 100 top global business executives attended. However, most Japanese executives canceled at the last minute due to the diplomatic rift between China and Japan.
During his speech, Premier Li promised to rebalance trade with other countries and to open the Chinese market more to foreign investors, following growing concerns and calls for reciprocity from around the world. As an example, during the recent #TwoSessions2026, China decided to continue opening up the medical sector to foreign investment, and Eli Lily’s Mounjaro weight-loss drug has recently become eligible for reimbursements under China’s health insurance.
Additionally, China will enact a zero-tariff policy for all African countries as of the 1st of May, 2026. However, some analysts note that the effect will not be able to reverse the trade balance due to structural economic differences. Still, African countries are aware that they must graduate from being an exporter of low-value raw materials to a manufacturer of high-value goods in order to address the persistent trade imbalance.
Premier Li reiterated China’s willingness to purchase advanced equipment, but countries are wary about supplying China with their latest technologies, fearing being copied and undercut in the future. Thus, the much-vaunted ‘market-for-technology’ barter produced many cautionary tales as OEM manufacturers evolved into competitors. Examples abound from photovoltaics to electric vehicles, and even tomato sauce.
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered a speech and reiterated that China remains central to his company’s strategy, notwithstanding delocalization to other geographies to diversify supply chains. In 2018, just before the #COVID pandemic, Apple produced 90% of its phones in China; in 2025, India produced 25% of Apple’s phones. Apple’s move is representative of other multinationals that are not decoupling, but derisking from China, in a strategy that has become known as China+1.
The huge USD 1.2 trillion in trade surplus is becoming the cause of much trade tension, and has resulted in the raising of tariffs from certain countries, most notably the USA.
China appears to be doing quite well despite tariffs imposed by the US. On the other hand, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) fell by nearly 6% year-on-year to just USD 13.4 billion (¥92B) in 2025. Chinese Commerce Minister WANG Wentao reassured investors by ensuring policy stability and improving intellectual property (#IP) protection.
The risks brought about by the Middle East conflict, coupled with a sustained rivalry between China and the USA, contributed to a lackluster economic performance. China presented itself as a sizeable, stable, predictable economy. However, many businesspeople appear to be more comfortable sitting on the fence rather than rushing to commit to the Chinese market.