China sought to set a positive tone on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with the US at the G20 summit this week by pledging to open its economy “even wider” to the outside world, “greatly improving” protection for intellectual property and proactively boosting its imports of overseas products.

中国周二试图在本周与美国在20国集团(G20)峰会上会晤之前设定积极基调，承诺加大中国经济开放程度，大大改善对知识产权的保护，并积极主动地增加进口。

In a speech in Hamburg that did not mention the US by name, Liu He, China’s influential vice premier, also appealed to Europe to offer joint support for free trade in the face of rising protectionism.

中国有影响力的副总理刘鹤在汉堡发表演讲，在没有对美国指名道姓的情况下呼吁欧洲在保护主义抬头的当今世界与中国携手支持自由贸易。

“China and Europe are both staunch supporters of the rules of free trade and the multilateral system and we share enormous common interests,” Mr Liu told a business audience. “We have to make concerted efforts to deepen our co-operation.”

刘鹤告诉商界人士，中国和欧洲都是自由贸易规则和多边体系的坚定支持者，双方有着巨大的共同利益，必须齐心协力，加深合作。

His remarks follow comments by Donald Trump, the US president, that Washington may be set to raise tariff levels on $200bn of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from a current 10 per cent. Mr Trump added it was “highly unlikely” that he would accept Beijing’ appeal to hold off on the increase.

刘鹤发表演讲之前，美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)放话称，华盛顿方面很可能按计划把针对2000亿美元中国输美商品的关税税率从当前的10%提高到25%。特朗普补充说，他“极不可能”接受北京方面有关推迟提高关税的呼吁。

Mr Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s president, are expected to talk face to face at the G20 summit in Argentina on December 1st. The G20 includes as members the European Union and several European powers such as Germany, France and the UK.

预计特朗普和中国国家主席习近平将于12月1日在阿根廷举行的G20峰会上面对面交谈。G20成员包括欧盟以及德国、法国和英国等欧洲大国。

Stressing the steps China has taken to open its economy to foreign competition, Mr Liu said market access restrictions for foreign banks, brokerages asset managers and insurers have been eased and similar measures are in train for selected manufacturing sectors such as autos, ships and aircraft.

刘鹤强调了中国已经采取的开放经济、让外资参与竞争的措施。他表示，针对外资银行、券商、资产管理公司和保险公司的市场准入限制已被放松，某些制造业部门（如汽车、船舶和飞机）也将实施类似措施。

Beijing was also “speeding up” the opening of its telecommunications, education, medical services and culture sectors, he added. “The development of the Chinese economy in the future can only be guaranteed on the basis of even greater openness,” Mr Liu said. “China’s door of opening up will open even wider.”

他补充说，北京方面还将“加快”电信、教育、医疗服务和文化领域的开放。刘鹤表示，中国经济的未来发展只能在更加开放的基础上得到保障；中国对外开放的大门只会越开越大。

The vice-premier, who has been deeply involved in Beijing’s efforts to resolve the US-China trade war, promised improvements in the protection of intellectual property rights of foreign companies in China — a key US demand.

一直深入参与北京方面解决美中贸易战努力的这位副总理，承诺改善在华外企的知识产权保护——这是美国的一项关键要求。

“On strengthening IPR protection, we understand this is an area of special interest to our foreign friends,” he said, listing several measures such as a revised patent law and harsher punishment for offenders that “are expected to greatly improve IPR protection”.

他表示，在加强知识产权保护方面，中方理解这是外国朋友特别感兴趣的领域。他列举了一些措施，如修订专利法和对违法者实施更严厉惩罚，称这些措施预计将大大改善知识产权保护。

Addressing Mr Trump’s demand that China should import more, Mr Liu said Beijing was being proactive in boosting imports and had already cut tariffs on 1,500 imported items, bringing the country’s average tariff weight to around the level of the developed nations.

针对特朗普要求中国增加进口，刘鹤表示，北京正在积极主动地增加进口，已削减1500种进口商品的关税，使中国的平均关税负担达到与发达国家相当的水平。