No time for divisions as Xi reaffirms faith in mission of Apec
- Amid a slow recovery from the pandemic and geopolitical tensions, the Chinese president’s words to regional leaders offered hope and a path to the future
The founding more than three decades ago of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum reflected faith in the region’s future as a stable engine of global growth.
Never has that faith been more needed than now, amid slow recovery from the pandemic and geopolitical tensions, including deep division over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The Apec economic leaders’ meeting, during the organisation’s annual summit last week, provided a platform for reaffirming it.
President Xi Jinping did so in a speech calling on the region to usher in another “30 golden years” of development, and outlining an inclusive formula for achieving it.
Xi called on Apec economies to expand free trade and innovation through open, green and inclusive development. He reminded his audience that Apec had always stood at the global forefront of openness and shared development.
That not only reflected confidence in its future, but also a belief that it should shoulder more responsibility for global growth.
Xi was explicit about what that entailed. “We should proactively promote exchanges and cooperation in science and technology, and work together for an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for scientific and technological progress,” he said.
Countries should also work together to safeguard free trade and to maintain global industrial and supply chains, and he added that the region “must say no to any attempt to politicise, weaponise, or impose security implications on economic and trade issues”.
Xi envisages a “win-win” scenario that he has repeatedly invoked ever since coming to power and was projected in a green, tech-driven proposal open to all members.
Once again he emphasised, as he had before in his speech to the summit, that while China would play a key role it was not aiming to replace anyone, a veiled reference to the US.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, representing Hong Kong at the summit in the absence of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu because of “scheduling issues”, made good use of a platform for promoting the city as a financial centre and super-connector to the mainland economy.
The timing was good, given that Xi’s summit with President Joe Biden went well. It remains to be seen whether the thaw will warm United States-Hong Kong relations chilled by criticism of the national security law.
Hong Kong’s participation in the summit remained meaningful despite Lee’s absence. It not only maintained the city’s profile as China’s financial hub but the international exposure helped combat a hostile, anti-China Western narrative.
With China-US relations back on the right track there are hopes that the US will lift sanctions on the chief executive. Given the politics of the coming election year in the US, this may be unlikely. But it is never too soon to call for lifting.
