Global Times: Xi puts forward five-point proposal for building Asia-Pacific community at APEC

BEIJING, Oct. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday put forward a five-point proposal for promoting universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and building an Asia-Pacific community, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Xi made the proposal in his speech titled "Building an Inclusive Open Asia-Pacific Economy for All" at the first session of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. 

Xi called on APEC members to stay true to APEC's founding mission to promote economic growth and improve people's lives, and champion open development where everyone shares opportunities and emerges a winner. He also urged efforts to promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and build an Asia-Pacific community. 

Xi then put forward a five-point proposal.

President Xi's remarks have drawn a positive response among domestic and foreign experts and enterprises, as they highly praise China's active contribution to regional cooperation and global prosperity through opening-up, pragmatic cooperation, and strong momentum in innovations.

Five-point proposal 
Firstly, Xi called for joint efforts to safeguard the multilateral trading system. He urged APEC members to practice true multilateralism, enhance the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and update international economic and trade rules to reflect the changing times, so as to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

Secondly, Xi called for building an open economic environment in the region. He urged APEC members to keep promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, deepen fiscal and financial cooperation, steadily push for regional economic integration, foster mutual alignment and collaborative progress, so as to inject impetus into the development of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

Thirdly, Xi called on APEC members to work together to keep industrial and supply chains stable and smooth. APEC members should join hands rather than part ways, strengthen their links rather than sever them, vigorously expand common interests and support the open development of supply chains, strive for concrete and tangible results in physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, so as to further consolidate the foundations for open development in the Asia-Pacific region, Xi said.

Fourthly, Xi called for advancing the digital and green transformation of trade. He urged efforts to make digital technologies a strong catalyst for cross-border trade, remove various green barriers, and expand cooperation in green industries, clean energy and green minerals.

Fifthly, Xi urged the Asia-Pacific to work together to promote universally beneficial and inclusive development. Xi called for joint efforts to adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, focus on imbalances in development, and foster an economic globalization that is more inclusive, sustainable and beneficial to all peoples in the region.

Building Asia-Pacific community

"With its roots deep in the Asia-Pacific, China is always committed to the region's stability and prosperity. President Xi's five-point proposal, building on a series of China's initiatives to advance Asia-Pacific development, once again contributes China's solutions to win-win cooperation in the region," Liu Xiaoxue, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Today, the Asia-Pacific region, home to one-third of the world's population, accounts for over 60 percent of the global economy and nearly half of world trade.

Over the past 30-plus years since its founding, APEC has been spearheading the region's rise to the forefront of global open development, and has made the Asia-Pacific the most dynamic part of the global economy, Xi noted.

Currently, changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world, and the Asia-Pacific faces growing uncertainties and destabilizing factors in its development, he said, adding that the rougher the seas, the more APEC members must pull together.

"President Xi's speech charts a clear direction for the Asia-Pacific region amid evolving global challenges," Han Bicheng, founder and CEO of neurotechnology firm BrainCo, told the Global Times on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju.

The five-point proposal systematically addresses core regional challenges, particularly in safeguarding the multilateral trading system and deepening regional economic integration, demonstrating China's responsibility as a major country in advancing regional peace and sharing prosperity while providing confidence and a path forward for economies worldwide to jointly tackle global uncertainties, Han said.

Hemione Hudson, Chair and CEO of PwC China, told the Global Times on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju that "The Asia-Pacific region is a vital engine for global growth. As a steadfast advocate and active contributor to regional cooperation, China injects core momentum into the region's development through opening-up, pragmatic collaboration, and innovation-driven leadership."

Opening-up for global prosperity

President Xi said on Friday that walking with China means walking with opportunities, believing in China means believing in tomorrow, and investing in China means investing in the future.

In a written speech delivered at the APEC CEO Summit, Xi said China can provide the global business community with more development opportunities, a sound business environment, a broad stage for innovation, and conditions for green growth.

Facts have proven that whoever has a firm foothold in the Chinese market will gain the upper hand in fierce international competition, he added.

The recommendations of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) adopted by the recently concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee stressed that China will continue to expand opening-up at the institutional level, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and share opportunities with the rest of the world and promote common development.

"China's efforts to further open up and engage more with other countries is an encouraging signal," Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies of the National University of Singapore, told the Global Times on Friday.

In a volatile world, there is a need for regional economies to expand mutual trade among each other, Palit said. "They can explore framework agreements for expanding bilateral and regional trade. They can also work with each other in building rules for new-generation trade issues such as managing supply chains, digital trade and sustainability. These efforts, along with those to shore up the rules-based trade order of the WTO, should contribute significantly to stabilizing global trade," he said.

In the first three quarters this year, China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 33.61 trillion yuan ($4.73 trillion), hitting a new high. In particular, the country's foreign trade in the third quarter grew by 6 percent year-on-year, maintaining growth for the eight straight quarter, official data showed on October 13.

"Having operated in China for decades, PwC has witnessed China's sustained efforts in promoting trade, investment liberalization and facilitation. We look forward to China hosting APEC next year and working closely with all Asia-Pacific partners to build a sustainable future for the region," Hudson said.

President Xi's speech has provided fundamental guidance for the China Council for Promotion of International Trade to do a good job in boosting APEC business community cooperation in 2026, Sun Xiao, secretary general of China Chamber of International Commerce, told the Global Times on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju.

"Moving forward, we will follow the President's important instruction, and take concrete steps to foster an open and inclusive Asia-Pacific economic landscape, contributing greater momentum to global economic growth," Sun said.

SOURCE Global Times