Globalisation an 'irreversible historical trend': China's Xi

Chinese president Xi Jinping laid out his country's credentials as the new champion of world trade Friday, calling globalisation an "irreversible historical trend", in comments that offered a contrast to the "America First" doctrine espoused by Donald Trump moments earlier.

Speaking at the APEC summit in Vietnam, Xi conceded that the philosophy behind free trade needed to be repurposed to be "more open, more balanced, more equitable and more beneficial to all" but defended multinational trade deals, which he said helped poorer nations benefit from global commerce.

"We should support the multilateral trading regime and practice open regionalism to allow developing members to benefit more from international trade and investment," he said in a speech punctuated by regular bouts of applause from delegates.

The Chinese leader's comments contrasted with remarks by US president Trump, who had spoken on the same stage moments earlier.

Trump gave a spirited airing of his "America First" doctrine, saying Washington would "no longer tolerate" unfair trade, closed markets and intellectual property theft, as he seeks to rewrite the rules of global commerce.

He also railed against free trade deals between multiple countries, saying instead Washington would prioritise bilateral pacts.

Trump's withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal between 12 Pacific nations that excluded China, has been a boon to Beijing.

Xi has stepped into the void, portraying himself as the world's global free trade leader and pushing its own version of TPP instead.

burs-jta/klm

Philippines scraps sandbar plan after China anger: defence chief
Manila (AFP) Nov 8, 2017
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered troops to scrap plans of building a fishermen's shelter on a sandbar in the disputed South China Sea after Beijing complained, his defence chief said Wednesday. The military in August had brought bamboo and palm roofing materials to the sandbar near one of their garrisons in the Spratlys archipelago before the president's intervention, Defence Sec ... read more

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal