'No Attempt To Wage New Cold War Will Be Allowed..': China's Xi Jinping Ahead Of Apec Summit

In a written statement prepared for a business event linked to the summit, Xi Stated: "No attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by our times."

China's President Xi Jinping.

China's president, Xi Jinping, has warned against cold war tensions in the Asia-Pacific, which is a hotspot of rivalry between Beijing and Washington, saying that it is no one's backyard and should not turn into an arena of major power conflict, news agency Reuters reported.

Prior to Friday's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Bangkok, Xi's statements on Thursday appeared to relate to US efforts with regional allies and partners to counter what they perceive to be China's expanding coercive economic and military influence in the area.

In a written statement prepared for a business event linked to the summit, Xi Stated: "No attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by our times."

The area shouldn't become "an arena for huge power contest," he added in the address, stressing that we should follow a path of openness and inclusivity.

“Unilateralism and protectionism should be rejected by all; any attempt to politicise and weaponise economic and trade relations should also be rejected by all,” he was quoted by Reuters in its report.

The elimination of Hong Kong's autonomy, intellectual property theft, tariffs, Taiwan, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea are just a few of the topics causing tension between the two greatest economies in the world.

A senior administration official said that US Vice President Kamala Harris will go to the Philippine island group of Palawan on Tuesday, which is near the disputed South China Sea. Beijing may see this as a reproach.

Harris will be the highest-ranking US official to travel to the Spratly Island chain as a result of the trip. On the Spratly Islands—parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam—China has dug the ocean bottom to construct harbours and airports.

At a meeting with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines in Bangkok, Xi informed him that the health of their bilateral relations depended on calm seas, according to China's state-run CCTV, referring to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.

After the Apec gathering, which comes after a string of regional meetings so far dominated by geopolitical anxiety over the war in Ukraine, Harris will go to Palawan.

The majority of G20 members unanimously issued a statement at the Bali summit condemning the bloodshed in Ukraine but also recognising that other members had differing perspectives. The conflict, according to host Indonesia, is the most divisive topic.

Despite being a G20 and Apec member, Russia's president Vladimir Putin has avoided attending summits. Andrey Belousov, the first deputy prime minister, will represent Putin at Apec.

On Thursday, Thailand, the Apec host nation, urged the leaders attending the summit to "rise beyond divisions."

The conference of the 21-member group "takes place at a pivotal juncture," according to its foreign minister Don Pramudwinai, with the globe confronting several challenges.

“Cancel mentality … permeates every conversation and action, [and] makes any compromise appear impossible,” he said in a statement after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers ahead of the main summit. “That’s why Apec this year must rise above these challenges and deliver hope to the world at large.”

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, said he expressed worries about maintaining peace in the Taiwan strait to Xi at their unusual summit, which took place while Xi was in Bangkok. This was the first leadership-level encounter between the two nations in over three years.

He reiterated with Xi their commitment to reestablish diplomatic channels of communication and maintain close contact, adding that both presidents agreed Russia must refrain from using the nuclear option in Ukraine. He declined to comment on what Xi stated in this regard.

According to China's CCTV, Xi informed Kishida that the territorial issues should be handled correctly because the Taiwan problem affected the political basis of relations between their two nations.

The meeting took place a day after tensions erupted in Bali, when Xi personally criticised Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, over purported leaks of their private discussion. It was a rare instance of Xi expressing irritation in front of the public. Likewise in Bangkok is Trudeau.

The junta in neighbouring Myanmar on Thursday, as leaders were getting ready for the Apec conference, announced the amnesty of 5,774 inmates, including a Japanese filmmaker, a former British ambassador, an economist from Australia, and a former aide to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 700 of those released, according to state media, were political prisoners.

Activists and the military's detractors praised the amnesty but cautioned the world against falling for the junta's tricks since they claimed it was exploiting its subjects as pawns in negotiations.

(With Inputs From Reuters)