The Trump administration’s announcement that it will impose up to $US60 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports has led to fears of a trade war brewing between the two countries. In response, China said it is preparing retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products, amounting to US$3 billion of goods.

Yet there is reason to believe that this is not a battle that China wants to fight. Numerous signals at the recent “two sessions” gathering of China’s national legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its top political advisory body, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made evident China’s desire to keep its economy open.

As an authoritarian state, the press conference at the end of this important annual gathering provides a rare glimpse into the inner thinking of its political leadership. Much of the focus this year was on the president, Xi Jinping, who scrapped presidential term limits. But there were also some important announcements when it came to China’s economy, with strong commitments made to opening itself to trade with the rest of world.

Here are six of the key takeaways from premier Li Keqiang’s wide-ranging press conference on March 19, which lasted two hours. In many respects it echoed Xi’s speech at Davos last year that China is dedicated to furthering international integration and definitely doesn’t want to start a trade war.

No appetite for trade wars. China’s economic transformation is based on globalisation and free trade. The decision to open itself up in the late 1970s has benefited millions of its citizens. And, as research I’ve carried out shows, there is no grassroots support for protectionism and isolationism.