Asia-Pacific must not become an arena for big power contest - Xi Jinping

BANGKOK: The Asia-Pacific is no one's backyard and should not become an arena for big power contest, says China's President Xi Jinping.

"No attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by our times," he said in a written remark entitled "Staying Committed to and Jointly Promoting Development to Bring Asia-Pacific Cooperation to New Heights" prepared for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit 2022 in Bangkok on Thursday.

Xi said the Asia-Pacific, once a ground of big power rivalry and a place fraught with international disputes, suffered so much from conflicts and wars.

"History tells us that bloc confrontation cannot solve any problem and that bias will only lead to disaster. It is precisely because the Asia-Pacific was freed from the shadow of the Cold War that this region, and particularly its small-and medium-sized economies, have been able to embark on a fast track toward modernization and create the Asia-Pacific miracle," he said.

Xi's remarks comes at a time when the two superpowers United States (US) and China rmain on a collision course with relations between Washington and Beijing plunging to a multi-decade low.

He said Asia-Pacific enjoys overall stability where cooperation in the region has been steadily advanced, and peace, development and win-win cooperation remain the underlying trend in this region.

The world has entered a new period of fluidity and change where both geopolitical tensions and the evolving economic dynamics have exerted negative impact on the development environment and cooperation structure of the Asia-Pacific.

"The global economy faces mounting downward pressure and growing risk of recession. Food, energy and debt crises are emerging together. Many countries are encountering considerable difficulties in economic and social development.

"Over the past decades, Asia-Pacific economic cooperation has injected powerful impetus into the development of our region and greatly improved the wellbeing of our peoples. We should draw on the valuable past practices and remain firm in pursuing our development goals," he said.

Meanwhile, Xi said APEC economies should follow a path of openness and inclusiveness.

Over the past decades, he said APEC economies have overcome market fragmentation, built closer economic linkages and embraced the world, thus opening up vast space for economic development.

"APEC, guided by open regionalism and the principles of diversity and non-discrimination has become an architecture for inclusive and win-win regional cooperation.

"It is by acting on such a far-sighted vision that we in the Asia-Pacific have been able to seize the opportunities of economic globalization and become a forerunner of the times in pursuing regional economic integration.

"Openness brings progress while closing the door can only leave one behind. 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," he said.

Meanwhile, Xi added that Asia-Pacific has entered a crucial stage of post-COVID recovery but the economies in the region still confronted with disrupted supply chains, strained food and energy supply, growing inflationary pressure and other difficulties.

"We should strengthen cooperation, support and help each other, and enable the Asia-Pacific to be a leader in boosting global economic recovery," he said.

-- BERNAMA