Xi Jinping primes China to be leader of the free-trade pack
Chinese president casts himself as a defender of an open global order and China as a source of stability but gives few signs of how to settle differences, analysts say
China looks poised to take on a leadership role in the global economy, with President Xi Jinping making a vigorous defence of free trade and globalisation in Beijing on Sunday.
The new Silk Road extravaganza promoting Xi’s ambitious global trade and infrastructure programme, promoted by state media as China’s coming-of-age on the world stage, offered Xi a chance to outline his vision of his country’s role in a changing world order.
Observers said it was the second time since the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that Xi had cast himself as a defender of global economic openness and free trade.
As the world grapples with political uncertainties in Europe and the United States, Xi appeared more steadfast and confident on Sunday, fortified by a tighter grip on power at home ahead of a major personnel reshuffle later this year.
In his opening address to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Xi sought to position himself as a champion for a benevolent new world order based on “a new model of win-win and cooperation”, rather than on gunboat diplomacy or a zero-sum mindset.
“We will not follow the old way of geopolitical games during the push for the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.
“China is willing to share its development experience with the rest of the world, but we will not intervene in other nations’ internal affairs, export our social system and development model, nor force others to accept them.”
