HONG KONG, Nov 21 (SCMP): President Xi Jinping says Beijing will discuss and sign more free-trade agreements with other countries, as China seeks to consolidate its regional influence amid uncertainty about the new US administration.
In a speech to the CEO summit at the Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum on Thursday, Xi said China would not seek any “decoupling” or to form small groups to exclude others, a veiled attack against the United States.
“Openness enables a country to move forward, while seclusion holds it back,” Xi said in the virtual meeting chaired by Malaysia. “China has been integrated with the world economy and international system for a long time. We will not go back in history. We will not seek decoupling and form any small circle that is closed and isolate others.”
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Xi added that China would further open up for foreign investors and take part in more multilateral trade mechanisms.
“We will continue pushing for liberalisation of trade and investment and sign more high-standard free-trade agreements with other countries,” he said.
What is the Apec forum?
Xi’s remarks came after leaders from 15 countries in the Indo-Pacific region signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest free-trade deal involving the 10 member states of Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
The trade pact covering around 30 per cent of the world’s population and gross domestic product could help Beijing expand its influence in the region and counter pressure from the China-US economic decoupling.
The signing of the deal on Sunday also prompted calls for the new US administration to return Washington to international trade agreements, or risk losing its influence.
China is under pressure to remove market barriers for foreign investors and make structural changes to its industrial policies, such as removing state subsidies.
Its new development model of dual circulation – which emerged after the Covid-19 pandemic to help restore the economy – has raised concerns that China is turning inward to rely on domestic consumption and focus on boosting technology self-reliance, which may reduce its dependence on foreign markets.
But Xi defended the new model, saying it did not mean China would close its market.
“The new development model we are building is not a closed domestic circulation, but an open circulation that facilitates both the domestic and international markets,” Xi said.
The Apec gathering is seen as another platform for China to reshape regional trade amid rising uncertainty about Washington. US President Donald Trump has denounced multilateral trade agreements and it remains to be seen what policies will be adopted by president-elect Joe Biden.
No US government representatives are expected to take part in the Apec CEO summit. But Reuters reported that Trump would join the economic leaders’ meeting on Friday, making his first appearance at the event since 2017.
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The Trump administration has faced criticism over its representation at last weekend’s virtual East Asia Summit, when the RCEP was signed. The US was represented by national security adviser Robert O’Brien, Washington’s lowest level representation since 2011.
Xu Liping, director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said China would push to set up a free-trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region, but Trump’s attendance might mean Sino-US rivalry will be played up at the summit.
“The US is sensing some urgency as Trump has been absent from Apec for a long time and from the East Asia Summit, leading to frustration about unilateralism by Washington,” he said. “The dominant position of the US would be challenged if Trump was absent again this year.” South China Morning Post:
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