Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against the rising trend of protectionism and unilateralism as he delivered a keynote speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, on Saturday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chinese and foreign representatives who attended the APEC CEO Summit told the Global Times on Saturday that they were inspired by Xi’s speech and countries and regions across the world should strengthen cooperation to pursue inclusive growth through innovation instead of confrontation.

Xi said that only openness and cooperation can create more opportunities and space for development, Xinhua reported.

Confrontation, either in the form of a cold war or trade war, produces no winners, he said.

The president called for firm efforts to safeguard the multilateral trading system that has the WTO as its core, the Xinhua report said.

As rising uncertainty troubles the world market, China has made its resolute voice heard at APEC that the world is expected to strengthen cooperation, pursue common development and advance inclusive growth through innovation in technological fields such as artificial intelligence and fintech as well as cooperation models including the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), Tang Ning, founder and CEO of CreditEase, a Chinese fintech company, told the Global Times at the summit.

“If some countries set up barriers to cut off the close economic ties that exist between countries and regions, this not only violates economic rules and the historical trends, but also does not meet the general aspirations of the people of the world,” Tang said. “[Such a move] is short-sighted and will not succeed.”

“President Xi’s speech was truly inspiring. He spoke of an important message that everyone should recognize – a world built on shared destiny, responsibility and prosperity,” Joahnna Esquivias, an APEC Voices of the Future delegate from the Philippines, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Xi pointed out that the world is encountering changes that have not been seen in a century and mankind has once again reached a crossroads. He stressed that the interests of all countries and the future of mankind hinge on choosing between cooperation and confrontation, between openness and closing one’s door, and between win-win progress and a zero-sum game, according to the Xinhua report.

Chen Yushu, managing director of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, told the Global Times at the summit that after listening to President Xi’s speech, he was deeply impressed that today’s world has become more interdependent and interconnected than ever before.

“Economic globalization is the only way forward for the development of human society, and multilateral trade can bring about common opportunities for the growth of countries,” Tang said.

Tang noted that each country is part of the global cooperation chain as the world supply chain, industry chain and value chain are all closely linked.

“For countries in the Asia-Pacific region, only by strengthening cooperation and achieving inclusive growth, will it be possible to bring benefits to these countries in the region,” he said.

“I believe that if APEC becomes more open to regional integration through the BRI, economies will be more integrated. There’s much potential and promise in APEC,” Esquivias said. “I hope to see that in the near future.”

(In Association with Global Times, China)