Chinese President Xi Jinping on 18  November  urged countries in the region to remain committed to the goal of economic integration and work towards the director of an open global economy to jointly pursue prosperity in Asia-Pacific.

Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC CEO Summit 2018 in Papua New Guinea on 17 November. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Delivering a speech titled “Harnessing Opportunities of Our Times to Jointly Pursue Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific" at the 26th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Port Moresby capital of Papua New Guinea, the Chinese leader tabled four directions, namely to advance economic integration in the region so as to build an open economy in the Asia-Pacific, to pursue innovation-driven growth and foster new growth drivers, to improve the connectivity network to promote inclusive and interconnected development, and to forge a closer partnership and jointly meet common challenges.

During the event, he also voiced his support for the liberalization and facilitation of investment and trade, protected the multilateral trade mechanism and opposed the trade protectionism.

“We need to respect diversity and each other's choices of development path, promote integration and mutual learning on the basis of openness and inclusiveness, and engage in both healthy competition and mutually beneficial cooperation,” Xi Jinping stressed.

The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting took place on 17 – 18 November under the theme “Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future.”

(Source: VNA)