Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for greater global economic integration and warned against decoupling, while calling on the US and its allies to avoid “bossing others around.”
“International affairs should be conducted by way of negotiations and discussions, and the future destiny of the world should be decided by all countries,” Xi said at the Boao Forum on Asia, without naming the US specifically. “One or a few countries shouldn’t impose their rules on others, and the world shouldn’t be led on by the unilateralism of a few countries.”
In a veiled critique of US efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains and withhold exports of goods like advanced computer chips, Xi said: “Any effort to build barriers and decouple works against economic and market principles, and would only harm others without benefiting oneself.”
“What we need in today’s world is justice, not hegemony,” Xi said, adding that China would never engage in an arms race. “Bossing others around or meddling in others’ internal affairs will not get one any support.”
Xi spoke by video to more than 2,000 officials and business executives attending the conference in person in Hainan. Global leaders and the heads of the IMF and the UN attended the opening ceremony via video link, state media said.
After canceling the forum last year because of the COVID-19 outbreak, China is signaling it is open for business with the resumption of the conference, billed as an Asian version of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
A slew of US executives are participating in the forum, including Apple Inc’s Tim Cook, Tesla Inc’s Elon Musk, Blackstone Group Inc’s Stephen Schwarzman and Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio.
A key focus was on any new climate goals from Beijing, following promises from the US and China to work together to tackle climate change after a visit by US global climate envoy John Kerry to Shanghai last week.
Xi did not provide any new targets on his drive to cut China’s carbon emissions or tackle global climate change.
His speech had multiple mentions of the words “green” or “sustainability,” but offered no new pledges or suggestions for the pathway to carbon neutrality.
“We need to follow the philosophy of green development, advance international cooperation on climate change and do more to implement the Paris agreement on climate change,” Xi said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS