President Xi Jinping pledged Monday to keep China's door open to the outside world and to pursue development that benefits the whole world.

China will "expand, deepen and widen" its economy, firmly oppose protectionism in any form and prepare itself to solve economic and trade differences with other countries through consultation, Xi said at a round-table dialogue held during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2013 in south China's Hainan Province.

"China promotes the establishment of a multilateral trade system featuring balance and development," he told the representatives of 32 enterprises from China and abroad.

Xi reminded the entrepreneurs that China has fulfilled its promises to the World Trade Organization over the past 10 years by making its business environment more open and standardized.

China's market environment is fair and there is no "finish line" for improving the market economy, he said, stressing, "We are protecting the legitimate rights of foreign enterprises according to law."

All companies registered in China, domestic and foreign alike, are important components of China's economy, according to the president.

He said China will continue to hone its legal system and investment environment so that all enterprises can enjoy equal access to production, market competition and legal protection.

He called on the entrepreneurs to form a united voice and vision for promoting the common development of Asia and the world, encouraging foreign enterprises to seize the opportunities that are available in China.

Yasuo Fukuda, chairman of the forum's board of directors and former Japanese prime minister, also attended the dialogue.

Business leaders at the round table echoed Xi's remarks, saying they expect China will deepen reform and become more open.

The country's economy has great potential for enabling common development, they said.

Thanks to Chinese demand, Fortescue Metals, a major Australian iron ore producer, has become one of the world's most successful enterprises in its field, the company's chairman Andrew Forrest said.

Fortescue Metals will expand its investment in China and step up participation in the country's social development, Forrest said.

Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of the Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), urged China to support the development of small businesses and encourage private capital in the agriculture and service sectors.

Zein Abdalla, president of Pepsi, said he hopes the Chinese government can reform its administrative approval system and encourage foreign companies to invest in agricultural and eco-friendly industries.

Xi reiterated that China's development is a win-win process that can benefit the rest of the world, including its neighbors.

Last year, about 15.76 million Chinese people traveled to neighboring countries in east and southeast Asia. Over the next five years, China's imports will reach 10 trillion U.S. dollars and its outbound investment is expected to grow rapidly.

Japanese businesses are looking forward to helping to sustain mutually beneficial relations between the two countries and will promote trade cooperation, said Koji Miyahara, chairman of Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.

Olof Persson, president and CEO of Sweden's Volvo Group, also expressed confidence in China's market potential, saying the company will participate in Chinese environmental protection programs.

Xi praised the discussions conducted by the conference's attending entrepreneurs, saying they will help promote cooperation within Asia, as well as between the continent and other regions.

"We hope to realize the common development of Asia and the world," he said.

Yuan Gangming, a research fellow with the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, said Xi's comments have clarified the country's economic future and opening-up policy.

"Making such a statement at the Boao Forum indicated a positive attitude regarding the trade and business conflicts China has been facing in recent years," Yuan said.

For professor Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute under National University of Singapore, the president's remarks reflected the Chinese leadership's vision on a global community that shares a common destiny.

Countries are reaching different stages of development nowadays, but common interests are growing as the international community is more inter-dependent and connected, Zheng said.

With the trend of regionalization and globalization, it is significant to focus on common development rather than differences in political systems, ideologies or conceptions, he added.