Blueprint of inclusion praised as pragmatic

President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday, calling for an "inclusive and open" Asia-Pacific economy, has been praised as a timely and practical blueprint that counters protectionism and promotes shared prosperity.

Jack Midgley, principal consultant at Midgley & Co and an adjunct associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University in Washington, said the speech reframed global dialogue away from confrontation toward mutual opportunities.

Titled "Building an inclusive open Asia-Pacific economy for all", Xi's speech was delivered at the first session of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea.

"His remarks reinforced this longstanding theme," Midgley said, noting that Xi's emphasis on APEC's long-term, multilateral and consultative orientation stood in contrast to the United States' focus on shorter-term bilateral transactions.

"Xi's call for treating nations as partners rather than threats can be heard as advice for both APEC members and the US, which has characterized China as its 'pacing threat'."

In his speech, Xi said the Asia-Pacific — the most dynamic part of the global economy — must "put openness first and inclusiveness as the key", allowing development dividends to benefit all economies through innovation, connectivity and sustainable growth.

Protectionism, he warned, harms common prosperity, and only open cooperation can solve the challenges of the times. He proposed a five-point plan for universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

On Thursday, Xi and US President Donald Trump held their first face-to-face meeting since 2019 in Busan, South Korea. During the 90-minute talks, both leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in economic, trade, energy and other sectors and to encourage more people-to-people exchanges.

Denis Simon, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said the biggest achievement of the meeting was simply that it took place in person.

Such direct communication supports openness and inclusiveness, Simon said.

"They sat across from each other and looked each other in the eye, and I think both conveyed that they want to avoid conflict. To me, that's the most powerful thing — as long as we can keep communicating with each other, even at the highest levels, that will be good for both countries."

Simon proposed a concept of "smart openness" fitting with an open Asia-Pacific economy: using agreement guardrails to rebuild mutually beneficial cooperation.

Gordon Houlden, director of The China Institute at the University of Alberta in Canada and a former Canadian diplomat, said APEC's bilateral meetings within a multilateral setting are the best platform for practicing inclusive growth.

The stabilizing signal of Thursday's summit aligns with avoiding destabilizing actions, he said.

Experts agreed that the summit and Xi's APEC speech mutually reinforce an open and inclusive regional vision.

Robert Sutter, a professor of international affairs at Elliott School of George Washington University in Washington, said APEC's positive atmosphere creates conditions for follow-up on inclusive growth.