San Francisco, 18 November 2023 (TDI): Meeting challenges with unity of purpose to write a new chapter for Asia-Pacific” was the title of a written speech that Chinese President Xi Jinping gave at the APEC CEO Summit on Thursday.
In his speech, Xi recalled that 30 years ago, the first APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held by Asia-Pacific leaders who pursued peace and development.
This meeting boosted the development and economic globalization of the region, making it a driving force and a stabilizing factor for the world economy.
Xi said that for the past 30 years, we have been faithful to open regionalism, openness, and inclusiveness, and we have shared our best practices, met our needs, prioritized development, and created “the APEC Approach” together.
This approach follows the principles of voluntarism, consensus-building, and incremental progress, and embodies the spirit of partnership that values harmony without uniformity, and solidarity, and mutual assistance.
He added that we have a lot to learn from this amazing experience of Asia-Pacific cooperation.
Xi noted that the world is going through a new phase of uncertainty and change, and he urged us to stick to APEC’s original vision, remember our historical duty, and restart Asia-Pacific cooperation, as we face a new challenge of our era, what will be the future of Asia-Pacific cooperation in the next 30 years.
He said that we should work together to respect the goals and rules of the UN Charter and keep Asia-Pacific prosperous and stable by talking and collaborating instead of fighting and allying.
He said that the region should not be a place for power struggles, nor should it fall into a new Cold War or a division into camps.
Read also: APEC: A forum for collaboration and consensus
He emphasized that we should continue to support open regionalism, and firmly promote the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, make our economies more linked, and build an open Asia-Pacific economy based on mutual benefit.
Xi said that China will keep pursuing development with openness, and will continue to enhance its opening up and increase its market access with high standards.
He emphasized that China’s determination to create a market-oriented, law-based, and world-class business environment will remain unchanged, and so will its policy of offering fair and quality services to foreign investors.
Xi said that the unchanging goal of Chinese modernization is to improve the lives of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people and that this will also mean a wider market and unparalleled cooperation opportunities for the world. He said that this will also give a strong boost to the global modernization effort.
Xi expressed his wish to see a lively participation of the global business community in the Chinese modernization process to enjoy the enormous opportunities brought by China’s high-quality development.
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