The president of China, Xi Jinping, has assured in Peru that “the attempts to block economic cooperation under all kinds of pretexts and to dismantle the interdependence of the world are nothing but a setback”, and has called in Lima for an “inclusive” economic globalization and universally beneficial.
Xi uttered a speech at the business meeting parallel to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meetingwhich is being celebrated these days in the Peruvian capital, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
In his opinion, Economic globalization must be taken “in the right direction” in the face of “serious challenges” that threaten it in this new period of “turbulence and transformation” at a global level. “It’s like sailing upstream: either we move forward or we drift downstream”he assured.
In this regard, Xi called for more confidence in globalization: “We must ensure that generates more positive results and that it is taken to a new, more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable phase.
Xi called for making innovation the engine of growth worldwidehelp developing countries improve their capabilities in science and technology, reform global economic governance systems, give more representation and voice to the ‘global south’, protect industrial and supply chains or resolve imbalances between poor countries and the rich.
“You cannot reach the global prosperity when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. True development means the common development of all countries,” urged the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
“Where will the Asia-Pacific economy go? It’s a decision we have to make,” The Chinese leader indicated, calling the region an “interdependent community with common interests and a shared future.”
Likewise, he asked that the area continue to be the “locomotive” of globalization economically in the future.
Xi attributed the “success” of the Asia-Pacific economies to “our firm commitment to peace and stability in the region, to our continued practices of true multilateralism and open regionalism, and to our deep faith in the trend toward economic globalization and mutual benefits and successes.
“As long as we act with a spirit of openness and connection, The Pacific will become a highway to more prosperity and growth,” Xi said, predicting another “30 golden years” of development for the region.
Calls to combat the demographic decline
On the other hand, the president of China, Xi Jinping, described the demographic crisis as a “vital issue” for the country and asked for efforts to combat the fall in the birth rate and the size of the population, which is no longer the largest in the world after India surpassed it last year.
Qiushi, the theory and news magazine of the Communist Party of China (CPC), published this Saturday a article with speech asides that the Chinese president spoke in May of last year before the Central Commission of Financial and Economic Affairs.
In it, the president recognizes that China’s demographic trend has gone from one of expansion to one of decline, marked by the collapse of the fertility rate – in all-time lows even after the end of the one-child policy, aging and regional population imbalances.
“The transformation of the population is rapid, and population reduction has come sooner than expectedbut it generally follows the pattern of modernization worldwide,” explains Xi, who reaffirms that the family planning policies promoted by Beijing for decades have been “correct and effective.”
The situation will result in negative impacts on development as a result of a reduction in the workforce or a decrease in consumption and investment inertia, he points out.
However, Xi also sees “some positive effects” in population reduction, giving as an example a less pressure on resources and the environment or the need to change to an “intensive” economic development model.
“We can’t just look at it from one side. We need to look at some long-term issues and we cannot be in a hurry to draw conclusions“, indicated the also general secretary of the CCP, who asked to “work to maximize the benefits and avoid harm” in demographic matters.
China closed 2023 with 1,409.7 million inhabitants, 0.14% less than in 2022, the year in which the population has already fallen by 850,000 people, marking the first decline since 1961, when the failed Great Leap Forward policy caused major famines.
The Asian giant allows its citizens from 2021 to have a third childalthough the decision has not been received with great enthusiasm by the population, due to both the economic burden of parenting and the priority given to a career.
In 2023, the official number of births was 9.02 million, the lowest since the historical series started in 1949.
During the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in 2022, the ruling party emphasized that the country needs a system that “increases birth rates and reduce the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, schooling and parenting”.
Agreements with Japan
Additionally, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Friday to strengthen “mutually beneficial” tiesin the first meeting between both leaders, within the framework of the leaders’ meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), which is taking place in Lima, Peru.
In opening remarks to the meeting, Ishiba said that “Japan and China have an important responsibility for peace and the prosperity of the region and the international community,” and added that “there is great development potential between both countries.”
At the same time, the Japanese president stressed that there are “challenges and concerns” adding that “China and Japan should share the broad direction of comprehensively promoting a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests and building a constructive and stable relationship.”
“I would like to build a relationship with President Xi where we can have frank dialogue and repeated. People’s understanding and sympathy are essential to steadily advance Japan-China relations. “I would like to work together to accumulate concrete results,” said the Japanese president.
Xi, for his part, congratulated Ishiba after his election as prime minister and said that “amid great changes in the international and regional situation, Sino-Japanese relations are at a critical moment for improvement and development.”
“China, together with Japan, wishes to uphold the important common understanding that we will be partners and not threats to each other.”“We will comprehensively advance our mutually beneficial strategic relationship and build a constructive and stable Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the demands of the new era,” said the Asian giant’s president.
After the meeting, Ishiba gave a statement to local media where he indicated that he had expressed his concern to Xi about the increasingly aggressive military maneuvers of China in waters near Japan.
“There are many differences of opinion between Japan and China. But despite them, I agreed with President Xi to continue holding more meetings,” said Ishiba, to which the Beijing government said it was ready to cooperate.
Issues of their bilateral policy were also discussed, such as China’s ban on importing fish and seafood from Japan and which came into force after the discharge of treated water from the damaged Fukushima plant began.
In September, China said that would “gradually” restart Japanese seafood imports after imposing a blanket ban about a year ago, being before that the largest importer of these Japanese products.
#Jinping #assures #Peru #blocking #economic #cooperation #equivalent
