Lima: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru, where leaders from across the Asia-Pacific will convene to chart strategies for shaping the region’s future.
According to Namibia Press Agency, APEC gatherings, renowned for blending economic discussions with cultural exchanges, often feature leaders donning local attire for the iconic “family photo.” This no-tie tradition is seen as a way to cut down on the formality that high-level meetings usually involve.
In these meetings, Xi’s remarks showcase not only his eloquence but also his wit, vividly conveying his vision for Asia-Pacific cooperation. Over the years, his incisive words and catchphrases have offered fresh perspectives on advancing regional growth and fostering deeper collaboration among APEC members.
During the 2016 APEC gathering, also held in Lima, Xi used an analogy to describe the relationship between China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, comparing it to sweet potatoes, a food nativ
e to Latin America. He explained that while the vines of sweet potatoes may stretch in all directions, they all grow out of their roots. “Similarly, no matter what level of development it may reach, China, with its roots in the Asia-Pacific, will always contribute to the region’s development and prosperity.”
Since joining APEC in 1991, China has become a key trading partner and export market for the majority of APEC members. According to China Customs, China’s trade with APEC economies reached a historic high, surpassing 21 trillion yuan (about 2.92 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of 2024, marking a 5.7 percent increase from the previous year and accounting for 59.1 percent of China’s total trade.
In its efforts to promote free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, China has reduced its overall tariff level to 7.3 percent. “China cannot develop in isolation from the Asia-Pacific while the Asia-Pacific cannot prosper without China,” the Chinese leader remarked during his
debut appearance at the APEC stage in Bali, Indonesia, in 2013.
Connectivity stands out as a key theme of Xi’s vision for Asia-Pacific development. He once invoked a concept from traditional Chinese medicine to illustrate APEC cooperation: when there is free flow, there is no pain; when there is pain, there is no free flow. “Connectivity makes the economic arteries of the Asia-Pacific flow more smoothly,” he explained.
During his 2013 trip to Indonesia, Xi proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a pivotal component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and proposed plans for establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to support the BRI. To date, more than half of APEC’s 21 economies have engaged in Belt and Road cooperation, with signature projects like the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia and Chancay Port in Peru aiming to help strengthen trade networks and drive growth across the region.
While hosting the 2014 APEC meeting by Yanqi Lake in Beijing’s northern suburbs, Xi c
ompared the 21 APEC economies to 21 swan geese. “We are meeting here at Yanqi Lake to enhance cooperation and embark on a new flight to shape a new vision for the development of the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “A lone goose cannot make a formation.”
Founded in 1989, APEC was designed to foster economic growth and facilitate free trade and investment across the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout the years, thanks to the joint efforts of its members, the Asia-Pacific region has served as a vital engine of the world economy, driving what Xi has called “the Asia-Pacific miracle.” The latest IMF data shows the region contributes approximately 60 percent to global economic growth.
During the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in San Francisco last year, Xi posed a critical question: “Where will Asia-Pacific cooperation be headed in the next 30 years?” He has provided an answer with Chinese insights — build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
As Xi prepares to join other Asia-Pacific leaders fo
r discussions under the theme of “Empower. Include. Grow,” observers have set their expectations for the upcoming meeting in Lima. “The role of APEC in facilitating dialogue among political and economic leaders is more crucial than ever at this time of growing protectionism and economic decoupling,” said Hans Hendrischke, professor of Chinese business and management at the University of Sydney Business School.
“I believe President Xi’s trip to Peru will strongly promote economic, trade and investment cooperation and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region and even globally,” said Dora Isabel Gonzalez, a researcher at the Faculty of Higher Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Acatlan.