Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a speech at the APEC CEO Summit in Danang, Vietnam

Over 300 Chinese business representatives attended this year’s APEC CEO Summit, including representatives from the State Grid Corp of China, Huawei, Bank of China (BOC) and the Aluminum Corp of China, making the Chinese delegation the largest among foreign groups.

Immediately after concluding his state visit to China, U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Danang, Vietnam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, where he again met Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Trump had refrained from criticizing his hosts in Beijing, in Danang Trump and Xi presented diverging blueprints for the global trade order at the CEO Summit. Trump’s speech centered on his protectionist ‘America First’ policy, while President Xi presented China as a defender of “irreversible” globalization.

“The building of an Asia Pacific free-trade era is a long-cherished dream of the business community of our region,” Xi said. “This is a new journey for greater integration with the world.” Xi heralded the rise of multilateralism as he touted China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” to revive trade and infrastructure from Asia to Africa, Europe and beyond. He said that over the next 15 years, China would aim to import USD24 trillion in goods, drawing in USD2 trillion in direct investment and generating a similar amount in outbound flows. He added: “All businesses registered in China will be treated as equals.” Xi also invited countries in the region to “board China’s express train of development”. “In pursuing economic globalization, we should make it more open, more inclusive, more balanced, more equitable and more beneficial to all,” Xi said.

The 11 remaining members of the defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) reached an agreement to proceed with the trade pact under a new name – “Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPTPP) – without the United States. China, which is not involved, said the revised arrangement would not affect initiatives backed by Beijing, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).