Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech on January 17 during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest online summit, sharing an optimistic appraisal of the future during an otherwise dark time.
Xi’s speech comes in the context of a slew of economic data from the Chinese government that makes it clear that Beijing is leading the world’s economic recovery, giving a ton of weight to Xi’s words to the WEF.
For one, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.1 percent in 2021, the fastest growth rate in nearly a decade and surpassing the government’s annual target just above six percent. What’s more, China’s GDP per capita rose to $12,551 that same year, which places the country into the category of “high-income country,” per the World Bank’s definition.
This data point alone shows China is the center of the global economic recovery, which is only going to be more pronounced in 2022 since the world’s largest free-trade zone, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the Asia-Pacific, went into effect this year.
In his speech, Xi brought up the fact that the world is going through historic changes not limited to any particular moment or geographic location, which he said preceded the pandemic but was obviously exacerbated by it.
He quoted a famous Chinese saying, “The momentum of the world either flourishes or declines; the state of the world either progresses or regresses" – and that history flows by means of contradictions. In this vein, he brought up three crucial points for the world that are based on fundamental contradictions and put forward a solution on how to address them.
The first is obviously the pandemic. Xi reiterated that the pandemic is a global issue the world must face together, not an issue that each country should be left to deal with alone. He called on countries to work together, to develop multiple layers of defense against the virus and to cooperate on research and development.
Secondly, he said that the world has to cooperate on the global economic recovery. This means working together on emerging supply chain crises and surging energy costs, which are inflating prices around the world.
Xi also called on major economies to resist the urge to slam on the brakes economically by making a U-turn in monetary policy that could destabilize the global financial environment, disproportionately hurting developing countries. He was clearly referring to the United States Federal Reserve, which has signaled that it will raise rates for the first time in years in order to curb inflation.
The Chinese leader also called on countries to lean into globalization and seek further integration rather than decoupling, again clearly aimed at Washington. He said that the existing global trade system, led by the World Trade Organization (WTO), should adopt new rules for the growing digital economy and create an “open, just and non-discriminatory environment” for innovation.
Xi’s statement is an obvious reaction to moves by some countries in recent years to ban Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei, over “national security concerns.”
1 comment:
Not sure why expectations would be for Western Civilization to ever listen to, or have dealt with, any Communist Country. This was tried, and now results are America has communism gaining a foothold here, economical concerns, and Germ-Warfare committed, in my opinion.
America needs to oust those in our Government influenced by such communist mouth-pieces, the harm was inflicted, but all is not lost; IMO, there are going to be changes made one way or another for the failures that American's have endured by those whom are pushing their NWO Agenda's. Majority of American Citizen's don't like the status quo and don't care what another communist country wants, or says, but only what CCP have done to undermine USA, IMO! The attack on our values, homeland, need accountability from all the criminals using their power to subvert, IMO!
Banning Chinese Tech companies sounds like a start, it's just a drop in the bucket compared to the list needing attention, IMO! There should be America's old rule of laws applied because they negate the new rules ordered by Commie's, in my opinion! This is insanity at it's best to entertain complying with Communist, are we stupid or what?
Stupid is as stupid did, and does! And here we are, a mess orchestrated by opening that door of Pandora's box, lets shut it once and for all, go back to what made USA Great!
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