Chinese leader says combine effort will take relationship to a new height

BANGKOK: The goal of the Asia-Pacific’s development should be to build a regional community with a shared future. This is the message President Xi Jinping gave in his speech at the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok on November 18.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to follow the spirit of the Asia-Pacific family, look after one another like passengers in the same boat, and steadily move toward an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

Addressing the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting here at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Xi said that “the Asia-Pacific is our home as well as the powerhouse of global economic growth.”

Upon his arrival at the convention centre, Xi was warmly received by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Xi, in his speech titled “Shouldering Responsibility and Working Together in Solidarity to Build an Asia-Pacific Community with a Shared Future,” said that “over the past decades, robust economic cooperation in the region has created the ‘Asia-Pacific miracle’ admired across the world. Asia-Pacific cooperation has taken deep roots in the hearts of the people.”

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, he said.

Facing the new circumstances, Xi called for joining hands to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and take Asia-Pacific cooperation to a new height. To this end, he made several proposals.

Xi urged countries to uphold international fairness and justice and build an Asia-Pacific of peace and stability, noting that the rapid growth of the region over the past decades attests to the critical importance of mutual respect, solidarity and cooperation, and of consultation among all parties for the greatest denominator when something comes up.

“We should always assume the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. No one should interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and everyone should respect the development path and social system chosen independently by the people of each country,” he said.

“We should take seriously the legitimate security concerns of every country, and promote peaceful settlement of differences and disputes among countries through dialogue and consultation. We should take an active part in global governance and make the international order more just and reasonable to ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” he said.

Xi called for staying committed to openness and inclusiveness and bringing about prosperity for all in the Asia-Pacific.

“We need to continue pursuing open regionalism, strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policies, forge more closely linked regional supply and industrial chains, promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, and steadily advance regional economic integration for the early realization of a high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific,” he said.

“We need to make sure that development is for the people and by the people, and that its fruits are shared among the people, and we should promote prosperity for all in the Asia-Pacific,” said the Chinese president.

Xi said China will work with other parties on the full and high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and continue working toward joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), for the purpose of promoting integrated development of the region.

China will consider holding the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation next year to provide fresh impetus for the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific and the world, he added.

Meanwhile, Xi called for efforts to strive for green and low-carbon development and ensure a clean and beautiful Asia-Pacific.

He stressed the need to enhance economic and technical cooperation, speed up coordinated digital and green development, advance the transition and upgrading of energy, resources, and industrial and consumption structures, and promote green economic and social development.

China will provide support for the implementation of the Bangkok Goals on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy, which aims to advance ecological and environmental protection and economic development in a coordinated way, he said, adding that Asia-Pacific countries are welcome to take an active part in the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and enhance practical cooperation in poverty reduction, food, energy, health and other areas.

In addition, Xi asked countries to bear in mind their shared future and make the Asia-Pacific a region where all are ready to help each other.

The Chinese president said countries need to view Asia-Pacific cooperation from a strategic and long-term perspective, uphold APEC’s role as the main channel in regional cooperation, and keep Asia-Pacific cooperation in the right direction.

“We need to act on the purposes and principles of APEC, and continually deepen the Asia-Pacific partnership featuring mutual trust, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said.

Xi stressed that last month, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held successfully, setting the course and providing the blueprint for China’s development for now and for years to come.

China is ready to pursue peaceful coexistence and common development with all countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, he said.

“We will advance a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth, follow the Chinese path to modernisation, put in place new systems for a higher-standard open economy, and continue to share our development opportunities with the world, particularly with the Asia-Pacific region,” he noted.

Toward the end of his speech, Xi quoted a Thai proverb that goes, “You reap what you sow.” He noted that APEC economies have jointly sown the seed of the Putrajaya Vision and that it is time to cultivate, nurture, and foster the blossoming flower of common development of the Asia-Pacific.

His call reflects the common aspiration of the countries in the region, given the tremendous challenges they face amid the fast-changing global environment. Demonstrating his strong sense of geographical and cultural belonging, President Xi called the Asia-Pacific “our home”, which enjoys some unique favorable conditions and values that enable it to make the right choice whenever it reaches a crossroad.

Thanks to robust economic cooperation over the past decades, the region has created what can be called an “Asia-Pacific miracle”, and become an economic powerhouse consolidating the global industry and supply chains, and driving global growth.

Compared with some other regions where some countries still follow the law of the jungle because it suits their geopolitical, zero-sum games, the Asia-Pacific believes in mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, which can be partly attributed to the regional nations’ faith in peaceful coexistence.

As an ancient saying goes, a good neighbour is much better than a brother far off. Mutual assistance has always been a regional trait — even before the term international relations was coined. That historical legacy, along with economic globalisation, particularly after China launched reform and opening-up, has greatly contributed to the region’s collective development. And the widening common interests of the regional countries, based on openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect, peace and stability, have reinforced their belief in their shared historical values.

In just more than a week, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand have held the top-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation respectively, providing a platform for many world leaders to have their first in-person meetings since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out nearly three years ago.

By doing so, the three Asia-Pacific countries have not only highlighted the unique Asian values, but also showed the region’s potential to drive global economic recovery, stabilise the global industry and supply chains, as well as address the global deficit in trust, governance and communication.

Courtesy: China Daily and QIUSHI

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China open to space exchanges, cooperation

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s wish to work with other nations to carry out space exploration and development.

Xi wrote in a congratulatory letter to the United Nations/China 2nd Global Partnership Workshop on Space Exploration and Innovation that the country is willing to deepen its cooperation and exchanges with other nations to advance space exploration and the peaceful use of outer space and to make better use of space technology for the interests of all people around the world.

In the letter, which was read at the workshop’s opening ceremony in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, the president noted that China has been active in space exploration and has conducted a number of remarkable missions including the Chang’e lunar programmes, the Tianwen 1 Mars expedition and the Tiangong space station programme. These Chinese programmes have served to expand mankind’s understanding and knowledge about the universe and boost the common welfare of all people on the planet, he said.

The four-day workshop, hosted by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the China National Space Administration, is focused on building of a new type of space exploration partnership.

Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said in his address at the workshop’s opening ceremony that the administration wants to cooperate with other space agencies and international organisations, under the framework set by the UN, on rule-making, planning of space exploration strategies, implementation of spaceflights, and scientific data sharing and applications.

In the coming weeks, China will conduct the Shenzhou XV manned spaceflight, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, where they will stay for six months.

The Long March 2F carrier rocket to launch the Shenzhou XV spacecraft was moved to a service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert on Monday. It will have the final checks on its functions in the coming days, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Courtesy: China Daily