China's Xi Pushes for More Foreign Investment Amid Economic Lag

In an address to major global business leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged foreign investors to have faith in China's business prospects, the latest move to revive the world's second-largest economy that has been dragged down by a property bust and a loss of momentum.

- AGENCIES

"China has always been and will certainly be an ideal, safe and promising investment destination for foreign investors," Xi told executives, including Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics and Stephen Allen Schwarzman, CEO of investment firm Blackstone.

China remains a major exporter of products to countries around the world and boasts a domestic market of 1.4 billion people. However, massive overbuilding in the property sector has tied up trillions of dollars in capital, sapping business and consumer confidence and depriving the economy of its past vitality, while a tariff war unleashed by the USA is compounding those problems.

Private businesses, which provide a large share of growth and jobs in the country's state-dominated economy, have borne much of the burden after years of regulatory crackdowns have shaken the confidence of entrepreneurs and other investors.