During the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, CGTN News published an article highlighting how Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commitment and vision for openness and multilateralism are strategically guiding the building of the Asia-Pacific Community, and how China’s initiatives and joint projects are creating opportunities and shared prosperity for the region and the world.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and delivered a written speech at the APEC CEO Summit affirming China’s commitment to openness, multilateralism and shared prosperity.
“We should renew our commitment to APEC’s founding mission and contribute to world development through more vibrant and resilient Asia-Pacific cooperation,” Xi Jinping said in his written speech at the APEC CEO Summit.
“Investing in China means investing in the future”
Addressing leaders from across the region at the first session of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, President Xi Jinping pledged that China will continue to deepen comprehensive reforms and expand high-level opening-up. Through the latest achievements of China’s modernization, it will thus create new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the entire world.
Concrete measures demonstrate China’s commitment to openness. The national negative list for foreign investments was reduced to 29 items and in the area of production it was completely abolished. Visa-free travel now covers 76 countries through unilateral or reciprocal agreements, making it easier than ever for foreign businessmen, tourists and professionals to invest, work and live in China. As Xi Jinping pointed out: “Partnering with China means seizing opportunities. Believing in China means being optimistic about tomorrow. And investing in China means investing in the future.”
China’s growing interconnectedness with the entire region is reflected in business results. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, trade between China and other APEC economies increased 2 percent year-on-year to 19.41 trillion yuan (about $2.73 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2025, accounting for 57.8 percent of China’s total foreign trade.
At the same time, China’s stable economic growth continues to provide security for the entire region and the world. Over the past five years, despite growing external shocks, China has maintained an average annual growth rate of around 5.5 percent, which means it contributes about 30 percent to global growth.
German politician and member of the Bundestag Sevim Dagdelen said that China has always advocated building an open and inclusive framework for Asia-Pacific cooperation and promoting the multilateral trading system. At its core is the World Trade Organization, which plays a positive role in promoting regional and even global economic stability.
“The Right Way Forward”
As Xi Jinping described, the world today stands at a “new crossroads” between cooperation and hegemony. In this context, he called on all economies to strengthen solidarity, reject protectionism, resist unilateralism, and work together to build the Asia-Pacific Community to further strengthen peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world.
In his speech at the first session, Xi Jinping outlined five proposals to guide such cooperation: adhere to the multilateral trading system, promote an open regional economy, protect industrial and supply chain resilience, advance digital and green trade, and promote inclusive development that benefits all.
These ideas are already taking concrete form. Platforms initiated by China, such as the APEC Ports Network and the Green Supply Chain Network, have become key hubs for digitized and sustainable trade across the region. Over the past five years, China has ranked first in global goods trade and second in services trade, attracting more than $700 billion in foreign investment and maintaining outward investment growth above 5 percent annually.
China’s technology cooperation continues to support Asia-Pacific and global partners – from smart ports in Latin America and mobile payment systems in Southeast Asia to AI-enabled efficiency projects in the Middle East and electric vehicle manufacturing in Thailand. Together, these examples create a mosaic of shared progress based on openness and innovation.
Public opinion also reflects this vision. According to a recent CGTN survey, as many as 83.2 percent of respondents in the Asia-Pacific region expressed confidence in regional integration, while 84.6 percent agreed that economies should pursue multilateralism and globalization.
As China prepares to host its third APEC summit next year, its message remains clear and forward-looking. As President Xi Jinping said: “For now, confrontation and antagonism only result in estrangement and turbulence, mutually beneficial cooperation is proving to be the right way forward.”
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-10-31/How-China-champions-an-open-multilateral-Asia-Pacific-community-1HVhCfqEkCY/p.html