Xi's landmark six-day SE Asia journey expands partnerships, steadies ties

Two multilateral meetings, close to 20 bilateral talks and a sit-down with United States President Joe Biden — President Xi Jinping's six-day trip to Southeast Asia has charted the way for global governance, expanded China's global partnerships and steadied ties between the world's two largest economies.

Xi traveled to Bali, Indonesia, from Monday to Thursday for the G20 Summit before attending the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok and visiting Thailand — the first time he has attended the events in person in three years. Xi returned to China on Saturday evening.

The back-to-back meetings held by Asian countries took place amid spillover from the Ukraine crisis, which fueled global financial, energy and food crises, with some countries advocating division, confrontation and decoupling.

The world is again standing at a crossroads, and Asia has embraced a crucial moment in promoting global governance, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after the conclusion of Xi's trip.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said Xi's proposals at the G20 Summit indicated that he has always kept the interests of developing nations in mind and maintained the outlook in his diplomatic activities that true development can only be attained with the common development of all countries. At the summit, Xi said Beijing supports the African Union in joining the G20.

China's support for multilateralism and its contribution to G20 cooperation is also evidenced in the fact that the 15 projects and proposals put forward by Beijing were included in the list of projects for pragmatic cooperation at the summit.

Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Brussels-based Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said Xi's proposals at the APEC meetings were not only inspiring for the Asia-Pacific region but also for other countries around the world, especially in Europe.

"At a moment when the COP 27 is closing, President Xi insists that his country will push further for green and low-carbon development .Every government in the world should approve of his words when he says protecting the ecological environment and tackling environmental changes is the common challenge facing all humanity."

Raymund Chao, chairman for the Asia-Pacific region and China of professional services provider PwC, said Xi's written speech delivered to the APEC CEO Summit has boosted the confidence of business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region in responding to risks and turning crises into opportunities.

"The president's proposal to make global development more inclusive, beneficial to all and more resilient is a reminder to everyone for joint development and cooperation. It will be of major significance for the early recovery and steady growth of the global economy," he said.

Vasily Kashin, director of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University in Russia, said he thoroughly agreed with Xi's call to stay committed to openness and inclusiveness and bring prosperity for all in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kashin said such a proposal is very important as it is aimed at realizing the mutual development of the region, not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, avoiding trade protectionism, and complying with ecological and environmental protection standards.

"China is building a cooperative pattern of openness, which will boost the joint development of all countries in the region," he said.

In the past week, Xi also had a host of face-to-face meetings with global leaders on the sidelines of the events, including a high-profile meeting with President Biden on Monday.

Both Xi and Biden emphasized the global implications of China-US relations, underscored the importance of establishing guiding principles for bilateral ties and agreed to push the relations back to a steady track.

On Saturday, Xi held a brief exchange with US Vice-President Kamala Harris in Bangkok and he expressed hope that both sides would reduce miscalculations and misjudgments and jointly push for bilateral ties to return to the track of healthy and stable development.

Harris said that the presidential meeting was a success, that the US doesn't seek confrontation or conflict with China and that both countries need to develop cooperation on global issues and maintain smooth channels for communication.

The meeting between Xi and Biden was followed by talks between China's central bank governor Yi Gang and Janet Yellen, secretary of the Treasury of the US, as well as a meeting between Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and US Trade Representative Katherine Dai.

Foreign Minister Wang said the meeting charted the direction for China-US relations — preventing them from getting off course or out of control and finding the right way for the two nations to get along.

Xu Liping, director of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the meeting between the presidents of China and the US unclogged channels of communication at various levels and added certainty and stability to the global landscape.

"There is no substitute for a leader-to-leader communication in navigating the ties between the world's largest economies, managing differences and ushering in further cooperation," he said.

Another highlight of the trip, Xu said, is that China reached key consensuses on the building of a bilateral community with a shared future with Indonesia and Thailand.

"The consensuses on the building of a bilateral community with a shared future between China and Indonesia, and China and Thailand marked a major breakthrough in China's neighborhood diplomacy and showcased a higher level of mutual political trust," Xu said.

Ren Qiin Moscow andChen Weihuain Brussels contributed to the story.