By He Yin, People’s Daily
On Nov. 17, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a written speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
On Nov. 18, he attended the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting and delivered an important speech.
Focusing on the major questions of where the world is headed and what the Asia-Pacific should do, Xi profoundly reviewed the historical experiences of the development of the Asia-Pacific and expounded on China’s solution to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and the global significance of Chinese modernization. He has set a direction and boosted confidence for the region in coping with challenges and jointly breaking new ground in development.
Over the past decades, robust economic cooperation in the region has created the “Asia-Pacific miracle” admired across the world.
Today the world has come to another historical crossroads, and this has made the Asia-Pacific region even more important and prominent in its standing and role.
The Asia-Pacific region should stay committed to promoting development and draw experiences from history.
Only by following a path of peaceful development can the region share a solid foundation for development.
History proves that bloc confrontation cannot solve any problem and that bias will only lead to disaster. The Asia-Pacific is no one’s backyard and should not become an arena for big power contest. No attempt to wage a new Cold War will ever be allowed by the people or by the times!
Only by following a path of openness and inclusiveness can the region enjoy constant momentum for development.
Openness and inclusiveness are vital for human prosperity and advancement. Any attempt to disrupt or even dismantle the industrial and supply chains formed in the Asia-Pacific over many years will only lead Asia-Pacific economic cooperation to a dead end.
Only by following a path of solidarity can the region navigate the surging tides of the global economy.
The Asia-Pacific miracle has been created by all regional economies working hand in hand and overcoming difficulties and obstacles. The Asia-Pacific has entered a crucial stage of post-COVID recovery. Only by strengthening cooperation and supporting and helping each other can the Asia-Pacific be a leader in boosting global economic recovery.
In the written speech delivered by Xi at the APEC CEO Summit, he encouraged the Asia-Pacific region to bolster the foundation for peaceful development, take a people-centered development approach, pursue higher-level opening-up, strive for higher-standard connectivity, build stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains, and promote economic upgrading.
At the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting, he said the Asia-Pacific region should uphold international fairness and justice and build an Asia-Pacific of peace and stability, stay committed to openness and inclusiveness and bring about prosperity for all in the Asia-Pacific, strive for green and low-carbon development and ensure a clean and beautiful Asia-Pacific, and bear in mind its shared future and make itself a region where all are ready to help each other.
What Xi said contributed a Chinese solution to building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
When the peace and development of the Asia-Pacific region are facing severe challenges, the Chinese solution shows a clear way for regional economies to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, which has created conditions and injected momentum for the long-term and stable Asia-Pacific cooperation.
China, as a member of the Asia-Pacific, has benefited much from the region. In return, it has shared its development gains with others in the region.
Embarking on a new journey, China will advance a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth, follow the Chinese path to modernization, put in place new systems for a higher-standard open economy, and continue to share its development opportunities with the world, particularly with the Asia-Pacific region.
The modernization of China, a country with over 1.4 billion people, will be of epoch-making importance in human history. The country will continue to take the people-centered approach with a goal to increase the middle-income population to more than 800 million in the next 15 years and promote the sustained growth of its super-sized market.
It will keep raising people’s living standards and enriching their lives, hold dear humanity’s common values and promote human advancement along a balanced, positive and upward trajectory. The country will pursue all-round green transition in economic and social development and build a community of life for humanity and nature.
China will strive to safeguard world peace and development as it pursues its own development, and it will make greater contribution to world peace and development through its own development.
A China marching toward modernization will bring more opportunities to the world, inject stronger momentum for international cooperation, and make greater contribution to human progress!
Building a clean and beautiful Asia-Pacific of peace and stability, as well as prosperity for all, where all are ready to help each other, conforms to the common interests of all members of this region.
China will unswervingly join hands with other members of the region to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and take Asia-Pacific cooperation to a new height, so as to further improve the wellbeing of the peoples in the region.