Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with partners across the world, safeguard the free trade system, and inject impetus into global economic growth.

Li made the remarks when meeting with World Bank President David Malpass at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, noting that the world economy is facing mounting downward pressure.

The Chinese economy has been deeply integrated into the world, Li said. "We are deepening reform, expanding opening-up, and accelerating the building of market-oriented, internationalized business environment based on the rule of law to further energize market entities," he added.

China is willing to deepen cooperation with the World Bank in areas such as environmental protection, biodiversity as well as poverty reduction and development, he said.

Malpass said the world economy is facing severe challenges and called on all sides to work together to address them. 

He noted that there is huge potential for the development of the Chinese economy, underscoring China's remarkable achievements in its opening-up. 

The World Bank looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China, he told Li. 

The Chinese premier will hold a roundtable meeting with leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions in Beijing on Thursday. The six leaders are Malpass, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff, International Labor Organization Director General Guy Ryder, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary General Angel Gurria and Financial Stability Board Chairman Randal Quarles.

(Cover: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with World Bank President David Malpass at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 20, 2019. /Photo via Gov.cn)