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Eduardo Jaramillo

Laura Zhou

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Asia-Pacific economies to expand innovation and trade, as Apec leaders wrapped up an annual summit in San Francisco on Friday amid divisions over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“Innovation is a strong driver of development,” Xi told the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting chaired by US President Joe Biden.
“We should follow the trends of scientific and technological advancement, more proactively promote exchanges and cooperation in science and technology, and work together for an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for scientific and technological progress.”
Countries should work together to safeguard free trade and to maintain “open and stable” global industrial and supply chains, Xi said, adding that the region “must say no to any attempt to politicise, weaponise, or impose security implications on economic and trade issues”.
According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, Xi said China was not trying to “replace anyone” and the world’s second-biggest economy was willing to share its development opportunities with the rest of the world.


The remarks capped Xi’s high-stakes visit to the United States.
It was his first to the US in six years and included a four-hour discussion with Biden to stabilise ties strained by a range of issues, from Taiwan and the South China Sea to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Those issues remained largely unresolved but Xi and Biden did agree to resume military-to-military communications that Beijing cut off last year after then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
There was also agreement from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to continue efforts to expand and liberalise trade, fight corruption and address climate change issues.
“We reiterate our commitment to working together to deliver a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, inclusive, and predictable trade and investment environment,” the members said in a joint declaration.
“Our region’s economic growth continues to be underpinned by the rules-based multilateral trading system.”
This year’s final word from the 21-member grouping that accounts for nearly half of global trade also said it would continue efforts to improve transparency and technical cooperation among the 21 member economies, push for “resilient, effective, sustainable, and open” supply chains and improved transport links .


The group’s non-binding, consensus oriented structure guarantees that areas of agreement are largely technical and non-controversial, although supporters say it acts as an incubator for regional discussion.
Divisions were evident in the release of a separate document, the Chairman’s Statement authored by the United States. This document said that “most members” condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with evidence of even less consensus on the Mideast.
“We exchanged views on the ongoing crisis in Gaza,” the statement added, citing objections raised by some unnamed members to language on political issues in the full Apec declaration.
The conference started last weekend with a report that economic expansion in the Apec region would fall behind that of the rest of the world in coming years. This was partly because of slower growth in China, whose deepening tensions with Washington have become a focal point for Apec and nearly every other international forum.
With China and the US standing out as Apec’s largest members, the largely cordial summit between Xi and Biden – where they also agreed to work together on narcotics control and artificial intelligence – offered reassurance to some participants at this year’s conference.
US has every right to be in Indo-Pacific, Biden tells Apec CEOs
“The important thing is not what was said, or what they agreed to, the important thing was that Xi made the decision to come to the summit,” said Buck Gee, regional chair of the Committee of 100, a leading Chinese-American civic group.
“When someone reaches out and offers their hand, that’s a positive signal.
“China and the United States are always going to be competitors ... so that is always going to create tension.
“We’re in an economic competition, labour competition, market competition. Both sides know that they are not only competitors, but need to survive in this complicated world.”
Vanessa Liu, board director at machine learning company Appen and commercial property company the Goodman Group, called the summit “a step in the right direction to forge better relationships between the two countries”.
“We live in such a polarised environment when it comes to practically every topic out there, and so to be able to have a forum where you can talk and also just think about where can we cooperate together is always going to be better for everyone,” Liu said.


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Xi highlights role of innovation in growth as 21-member grouping wraps up annual conference in San Francisco
Free trade should not be weaponised or politicised, he says, capping his trip to the United States


Xi highlights role of innovation in growth as 21-member grouping wraps up annual conference in San Francisco.
