Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 16th
Unite and cooperate to fight the epidemic to lead economic recovery
——Speech at the APEC Leaders’ Informal Meeting
(July 16, 2021, Beijing)
Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China
Dear Prime Minister Ardern,
Dear colleagues:
It is a pleasure to attend this meeting.
Thanks to Prime Minister Ardern and the New Zealand government for their efforts for this meeting.
At present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic fluctuates repeatedly, the virus frequently mutates, the epidemic prevention and control situation is still severe, and the world economy is recovering fragilely.
At the same time, peace and development are still the themes of the times, and the call for safeguarding multilateralism, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly coping with challenges has become stronger.
The Asia-Pacific is an important engine for world economic growth.
To overcome the epidemic at an early date and restore economic growth is the most important task for all members of the Asia-Pacific region.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, APEC members have been united and actively carried out anti-epidemic cooperation. The economy of the Asia-Pacific region has taken the lead in forming a recovery momentum and has made contributions to boosting the world economy.
We passed the APEC Vision 2040 last year, and proposed the goal of building an open, vigorous, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community, which pointed out the direction for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation.
Under the current situation, we should strengthen solidarity and cooperation, work hard to overcome the impact of the epidemic, and promote the recovery of the world economy.
First, strengthen international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic.
The epidemic once again proves that we live in a global village, and all countries are closely related and share a common destiny.
We must unite and cooperate, overcome the difficulties together, and jointly protect the health of mankind and a bright future.
Vaccines are a powerful weapon to defeat the epidemic and restore the economy.
China has always advocated deepening international cooperation on vaccines, ensuring the availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries, and making vaccines a global public product.
China has overcome the challenges posed by its own large-scale vaccination and provided more than 500 million doses of vaccines to developing countries. In the next three years, China will provide another US$3 billion in international assistance to support developing countries’ fight against the epidemic and restore economic and social development.
China supports the exemption of intellectual property rights for the new crown pneumonia vaccine, and is willing to work with all parties to promote the World Trade Organization and other international institutions to make an early decision.
China is willing to actively participate in cooperation initiatives such as ensuring the stability and safety of the vaccine supply chain and promoting the circulation of key materials, taking effective measures to ensure the health and safety of personnel and orderly exchanges, and promoting regional economic and trade cooperation to return to normal at an early date.
China has donated funds to APEC to establish a sub-fund of "Responding to the Epidemic and Economic Recovery", which will help Asia-Pacific economies overcome the epidemic at an early date and realize economic recovery.
Second, deepen regional economic integration.
Open financing is the general trend.
We must promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core.
We must tear down walls instead of building walls, openness instead of isolation, integration instead of decoupling, and guide economic globalization toward a more open, inclusive, inclusive, balanced, and win-win direction.
We must strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, curb negative spillover effects, fully implement the APEC interconnection blueprint, and promote digital interconnection cooperation.
We must promote regional economic integration and establish a high-level Asia-Pacific free trade zone at an early date.
China has taken the lead in completing the approval of the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement and expects the agreement to come into effect within this year.
Third, persist in inclusive and sustainable development.
The earth is the only home on which mankind depends for survival.
We must adhere to the people-oriented principle, make a good ecological environment an important support for the sustainable development of the global economy and society, and achieve green growth.
China attaches great importance to addressing climate change, and will strive to achieve carbon peaks by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
China supports APEC to carry out sustainable development cooperation, improve the tax reduction list of environmental products, and promote the development of energy efficient, clean and diversified.
We must strengthen economic and technological cooperation, promote inclusive trade and investment, support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, increase support for women and other disadvantaged groups, share experience in eradicating absolute poverty, and strive to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Fourth, seize opportunities for technological innovation.
The digital economy is an important direction for the development of the world economy.
The global digital economy is an open and closely connected whole, and win-win cooperation is the only right way. Closed, exclusive, and divided by opposition will only lead to a dead end.
We must implement the APEC Internet and digital economy roadmap in a comprehensive and balanced manner, strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure, promote the dissemination and application of new technologies, and strive to build an open, fair, and non-discriminatory digital business environment.
China has completed a number of cooperation initiatives such as digital technology anti-epidemic and smart cities, and will also hold digital capacity building seminars, promote cooperation initiatives such as digital technology to help tourism recovery, and make more contributions to Asia-Pacific digital economic cooperation.
Dear colleagues!
China has embarked on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.
We will base ourselves on the new development stage, implement new development concepts, build a new development pattern, build a new higher-level open economy and new system, create a more attractive business environment, and promote high-quality co-construction of the “Belt and Road”, with the world Asia-Pacific countries achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results.
There is a Maori proverb in New Zealand: "When you face the sun, the shadow will eventually disappear." We are confident in the cooperation of mankind to defeat the epidemic, in the prospects for the recovery of the world economy, and in a bright future for mankind.
Let us stand in the same boat and help each other, join hands in advancing anti-epidemic cooperation and economic recovery, and create a prosperous and beautiful future for the Asia-Pacific region!
thank you all.