The Asia-Pacific region will not be the subject of “great power competition,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said this Thursday in his speech on the eve of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). ) which will take place in the Thai capital, Bangkok, from November 18 to 19.
Xi stressed that, although “cooperation in our region has been advancing steadily, and peace, development and win-win collaboration remain the fundamental trend,” in the world “the cold war mentality is increasing, hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. «Acts that distort international rules, interrupt economic ties, inflate conflicts and impede development cooperation are very common. “All this poses a serious challenge to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific,” he explained.
To counter hegemonist aspirations, Xi advised three “routes” for the region. The first is “the route of peaceful development”, which implies the absence of confrontation between blocs, wars and conflicts. In this context, the Chinese leader stressed that the region is not “anyone’s backyard” and “no attempt to start a new cold war will be allowed by the people or by our times.”
The second is “the route of openness and inclusion.” Beijing perceives APEC, “guided by open regionalism and the principles of diversity and non-discrimination,” as “the architecture for inclusive and win-win regional cooperation.”
Thirdly, Asia-Pacific has to follow “the path of solidarity.” “Through cooperation, we have created a sense of community that laid a solid foundation for continued progress,” Xi said. “We need to strengthen cooperation, support and help each other, and enable Asia-Pacific to be a leader in driving global economic recovery,” she added.
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