As global tensions rise, the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting unfolded under the shadow of growing unilateralism, protectionism and trade confrontations in the Asia-Pacific. With instability on the increase, all eyes were on Xi Jinping’s speeches and written address, urging a return to development through openness and cooperation.
China’s president opened the first session with a five-point proposal focused on holding hands rather than letting go, and extending industrial chains instead of cutting them. In the second session, he put forward a three-point plan aligning with innovation, green transformation and common development. Observers say these messages inject fresh confidence and direction into the region’s economic cooperation.
John Milligan-Whyte, executive chairman of the America-China Partnership Foundation, told China Media Group that China’s emphasis on shared interests and high-level opening-up sends a strong signal of inclusion. As the next host of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, China is expected to energize regional growth while safeguarding free trade.
The numbers speak for themselves: the Asia-Pacific is home to one-third of the world’s population, over 60 percent of global GDP and nearly half of world trade. In the first three quarters of this year, China’s trade with other APEC members rose by 2 percent year-on-year to 19.41 trillion yuan, accounting for 57.8 percent of the country’s total foreign trade.
Stories of collaboration are unfolding daily, from the new sea route at Peru’s Chancay Port to Chinese new energy vehicle makers building plants in Southeast Asia. Faced with calls for decoupling and supply-chain severing, China has doubled down on cooperation—from high-quality implementation of RCEP to advancing CPTPP and DEPA membership, upgrading the China-ASEAN FTA and jointly pushing the Belt and Road Initiative.
With the hosting baton now passed to China, expectations are high for next year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen. Xi’s remarks have laid out a roadmap for a more open Asia-Pacific community, promising new opportunities for shared development, sustainable growth and resilience in an unpredictable world.
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Why Xi's APEC message matters as global headwinds grow stronger
cgtn.com
