China will speed up the entry process for foreign investment in competitive areas and expand imports, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday at a regular meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs.

China should open wider to foreign capital in areas such as baby products, elderly care, architecture design, accounting, auditing, logistics, e-commerce, the general manufacturing and service sectors, President Xi stated.

"We need to continue to utilize foreign investment to push forward supply-side reform and elevate our economy to keep up with the global scientific and technological advances," Xi said.

The Chinese president called for the creation of a new basic law governing foreign investment as well as annulment or improvement of current rules against market-opening principles by deadline. He said foreign firms should be treated equally by law and policies.

He also emphasized the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) to build a better business environment. He stressed infringers against IPR should pay a heavy price and receive strengthened penalties.

The president also pledged to further open Chinese financial markets. "We must push forward market opening faster in areas that protect consumer rights, increase financial competition and fend off financial risks," he said.

Xi stressed that China will continue to push forward RMB internationalization and keep the RMB exchange rate basically stable within a reasonable range.

He also said that China will expand imports while maintaining steady exports. He noted that China will work on lowering tariffs of some consumer products.