"The Chinese government will unswervingly implement the opening-up policy," and "more vigorously promote all-directional, multi-tiered and wide-range opening-up and take part in international economic cooperation and competition at a greater width and depth," Jiang told an audience of over 700 political and business leaders attending the Fortune Global Forum that opened Tuesday.

China's efforts to open to the outside world over the past 20 years and more have made it the seventh largest trading nation in the world, and for eight years in a row, China has attracted more foreign capital than any other developing countries. It has also engaged in extensive economic and technological exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions, he said.

This has not only boosted China's economic and social development, but also created favorable conditions for companies from other parts of the world to seek business opportunities and conduct cooperation in China, he added.

Jiang promised China will continue to develop foreign trade vigorously, stick to the policy of making active, rational and effective use of capital, phase-in the liberalization of such service sectors as banking, insurance, telecommunications and trade, work hard on e-commerce, and take an active part in the multilateral trading system as well as regional and international economic cooperation.

He said China's gross domestic product is expected to reach 12. 5 trillion yuan (about 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) by the year 2005. From 2001 to 2005, he said, China may import 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars worth of equipment, technologies and products.

"China's development will present huge business opportunities to business communities of other countries," the president said, adding that China welcomes overseas business people to increase their investment in China, launch new investment projects and establish long-term stable cooperation ties with China.

(People's Daily 05/09/2001)