During the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, China’s state broadcaster CGTN published an article highlighting how Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commitment and vision of openness and multilateralism provide strategic guidance for building the Asia-Pacific Community, and how China’s proposed initiatives and joint projects create opportunities and shared prosperity for the region and the world.
/PRNewswire/ — Under an amber autumn sky and among centuries-old temples in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (ROK), leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region gathered for the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) meeting to discuss the region’s future and shared challenges.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and delivered a written speech at the APEC CEO Summit, reaffirming China’s commitment to openness, multilateralism and shared prosperity.
“We should renew our commitment to the original mission of APEC and contribute to world development through more dynamic and resilient cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region,” Xi said in his written speech at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit.
“Investing in China means investing in the future”
Addressing leaders from across the region at the first part of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, President Xi vowed that China will further deepen comprehensive reforms and expand the high standard of openness, creating new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world thanks to the latest achievements of China’s modernization.
Concrete measures demonstrate China’s commitment to openness. The national negative list for foreign investment was shortened to 29 items and was completely abolished in the field of manufacturing. Visa-free travel now covers 76 countries under unilateral or reciprocal agreements, making it easier for foreign businessmen, tourists and professionals to invest, work and live in China. As Xi pointed out, “Partnering with China means seizing opportunities. Believing in China means being optimistic about the future. And investing in China means investing in the future.”
China’s growing interconnectedness with the region is reflected in trade data. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, trade between China and other APEC economies rose 2% year-on-year to 19.41 trillion yuan (about $2.73 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2025, accounting for 57.8% of China’s total foreign trade.
At the same time, China’s stable economic growth continues to provide security for the region and the entire world. Over the past five years, despite increasing external shocks, China has maintained an average annual growth rate of around 5.5 percent, contributing around 30 percent to global growth.
Sevim Dagdelen, a German politician and member of the Bundestag, said China has always advocated building an open and inclusive framework for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and adhering to the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, which plays a positive role in promoting regional and even global economic stability.
„Správná basket vpřed”
As Xi Jinping described it, today’s world 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 world at large.
To guide such cooperation, Xi outlined five proposals in his speech at the first meeting: maintain the multilateral trading system, promote an open regional economy, protect the resilience of industry and supply chains, promote digital and green trade, and promote inclusive development that benefits all.
These ideas are already taking concrete form. China-initiated platforms such as the APEC Ports Network and the Green Supply Chain Network have become important hubs for digitized and sustainable trade across the region. In 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 foreign investment growth above 5% per year.
China’s technology cooperation continues to strengthen partners in the Asia-Pacific region and globally, from smart ports in Latin America and mobile payment systems in Southeast Asia to projects aimed at increasing efficiency through artificial intelligence in the Middle East and manufacturing electric cars in Thailand. Together, these examples form a mosaic of shared progress based on openness and innovation.
Public opinion reflects this vision. A recent CGTN survey found that 83.2% of respondents in the Asia-Pacific region expressed confidence in regional integration, while 84.6% agreed that economies should promote multilateralism and globalization.
As China prepares to host APEC for the third time next year, its message remains clear and forward-looking. As President Xi said, “While confrontation and antagonism only lead to alienation and unrest, win-win 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