ON January 17， 2017， Chinese President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts to chart the course of economic globalization and forge new models of global growth， cooperation， governance and development.

Xi made the remarks in his address to the opening plenary of the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum （WEF） held in Davos， Switzerland. He is the first Chinese head of state to attend the Davos meetings.

In his speech， Xi pledged that China will keep its door wide open and advance construction of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific and negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership， thus to form a global network of free trade arrangements.

He stressed that Chinas development will continue to bring opportunities to the business communities of other countries. In the coming five years， China is expected to import goods to the value of US $8 trillion， attract US $600 billion in foreign investment， and make outbound investments totaling US $750 billion.

Amid a rising tide of global concern about protectionism， anti-globalization sentiment， and other economic and political issues， Xis presence in Davos imbues it with Chinese wisdom and experience， and bears tremendous historic significance， WEF founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said.

Xi made his debut overseas trip this year to Switzerland on January 15. During talks between the presidents of China and Switzerland， both sides agreed to boost ties and jointly oppose trade protectionism. When he met with the heads of the two chambers of the Swiss parliament， Xi hailed inter-parliamentary exchanges in promoting bilateral relations.

In addition to the Davos meeting， the state visit to Switzerland also included visits to some international organizations.