China to expand domestic demand, opening up: Xi

China will expand domestic demand as a strategic priority and ensure economic activity flows smoothly, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

"In seven years since the 2008 global financial crisis, the contribution of China's domestic demand to GDP growth exceeded 100 percent, making domestic consumption the main driver of its growth," Xi said in a keynote speech at the APEC CEO Dialogues via video link in Beijing.

China's ratio of foreign trade to GDP dropped from 67 percent in 2006 to less than 32 percent in 2019, he said.

Xi emphasized that China is committed to opening up as a fundamental policy that will not change at any time.

The country has put forward the concept of a "double development dynamic" development strategy. Xi explained that by fostering this new development paradigm, China is not pursuing closed-door circulation, but is open and mutually reinforcing domestic and international circulation.