Xi pledges wider market access, says world must 'knock down walls'

Chinese president says he will further open country's economy, day after India decided not to join the RCEP trade deal.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged to further open China's economy, declaring the world must "knock down walls" as he opened an annual trade fair in Shanghai.

Xi addressed an audience including French President Emmanuel Macron at the import exhibition, staged annually by China to show its willingness to free up its vast domestic markets in the face of criticism that they are too cosseted by Beijing.

The world community must "continue to knock down walls instead of building walls, resolutely oppose protectionism and unilateralism, (and) continuously reduce trade barriers", Xi said.

The speech was light on specifics, however, and thus unlikely to