Guangzhou is set to further global free trade and innovation by welcoming multinationals to the Fortune Global Forum in December, a government official said during the World Economic Forum in Davos, which ended on Friday.

"As a city, openness and innovation is in our DNA. Guangzhou is a trading port never closed to the outside world, a starting point on the Maritime Silk Road, and we will remain open," said Cai Chaolin, deputy mayor of the city.

Cai was speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in Davos, one day after President Xi Jinping gave his keynote speech defending globalization and promising to further open up China's economy so the country could further contribute toward globalization.