China remains cornerstone of certainty, haven of stability for global development: spokeswoman

China will always be a cornerstone of certainty and a haven of stability for global development in a volatile and unstable world, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

Mao made the statement at a press conference in Beijing in response to a media query about the China Development Forum 2026, held in Beijing from March 22-23, and the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2026 Annual Conference, held in south China's Hainan Province from March 24-27.

"The China Development Forum 2026 and the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 were held in Beijing and Hainan successively. Both events sent out a same clear message: Amid global turbulence, China will steadily keep forging ahead," Mao said.

"The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development [in the 2026-2030 period] spells out clear strategic goals and policy priorities. It sets out the main targets and major tasks for national development in the next five years. China will fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, move faster to create a new pattern of development, and focus energy on promoting high-quality development. China will stay committed to free trade, keep deepening cooperation with other countries, steadily expand institutional opening up, pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, promote liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, and uphold and develop an open world economy. China will always be a cornerstone of certainty and a haven of stability for global development," she added.

China remains cornerstone of certainty, haven of stability for global development: spokeswoman

China remains cornerstone of certainty, haven of stability for global development: spokeswoman

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.32 percent to 99.648 at 1900 GMT.

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1607 dollars from 1.1523 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3324 dollars from 1.3189 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.82 Japanese yen, lower than 158.95 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7931 Swiss francs from 0.8008 Swiss francs, and it was down to 1.3895 Canadian dollars from 1.3937 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar slipped to 9.3935 Swedish kronor from 9.4895 Swedish kronor.

US dollar ticks down