Asian markets closed higher on Tuesday as stocks got a boost from Chinese President Xi Jinping's comments on measures planned to further open up the Chinese economy.
Those measures, which Xi brought up in his speech at the Boao Forum for Asia, included lowering import tariffs for autos and other products, as well as enforcing legal intellectual property of foreign firms.
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 116.06 points, or 0.5%, to 21,794.32,
The top performers for the day included the iron and steel sub-index, up 2%, and automobiles sectors, which rose 1.4%.
Against the yen, the dollar firmed to trade at 107.15 by late in the trading day, compared to levels around the 106.9 handle seen before Xi's speech.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index sprang higher 499.16 points, or 1.7%, to 30,728.74. The materials sector outperformed the broader index, trading up 3.7% ahead of the market close.
Markets in fair Australia advanced, as the energy, materials and financials sub-indexes all recorded gains of more than 1%.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar, which tends to be sensitive to Chinese economic news, strengthened 0.5% to $0.7733 U.S.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 jumped 74.24 points, or 1.9%, to 3,927.17.
One expert said the improvement in market sentiment was a result of Xi's speech, which reduced fears over the threat of a U.S.-China trade war.
Xi's remarks on Tuesday came on the back of President Donald Trump's announcement on Friday that he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports.
That followed China's Wednesday announcement that it would introduce extra tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including soybeans, although no start date was given.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi gained 6.66 points, or 0.3%, to 2,450.74
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index improved 74.24 points, or 1.9%, to 3,466.38
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index took on 33.65 points, or 0.3%, to 10,927.18
In New Zealand, the NZD 50 Index added 15.64 points, or 0.2%, to 8,469.77
In Australia, the ASX 200 Index moved higher 48.3 points, or 0.8%, to 5,856.97
