Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Oct. 4 said the regime was open to talks about state subsidies to domestic industrial firms that has become a sticking point in U.S.-China trade relations. In virtual remarks at the opening of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Xi said China will keep an “active and open attitude“ to negotiations over topics such as digital economy, trade and environment, industrial subsidies, and state-owned companies. China will support multilateral trade system centered around the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said, adding that the system has come under “a number of challenges.” “Openness is a distinct characteristic of contemporary China,” Xi said in the speech on Thursday evening. Senior U.S. officials have repeatedly described Beijing’s massive state subsidies as an unfair economic practice that gives Chinese companies a significant advantage over other firms on the international market. U.S. charge d’affaires David Bisbee in October told …