China’s Xi warns against ‘New Cold War’ during Davos keynote address
Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned in his virtual keynote address to world leaders at Davos on Monday against beginning a “new Cold War” in remarks that appeared to be a shot aimed at President Biden, who has spoken of strengthening global alliances to counter Beijing’s growing influence.
“To build small cliques or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others, to willfully impose … supply disruption or sanctions … will only push the world into division and even more confrontation,” Xi said during his speech Monday, the first day of the World Economic Forum.
“We should build an open world economy, uphold the multilateral trading regime, discard discriminatory and exclusionary standards, rules and systems, and take down barriers to trade, investment and technological exchanges,” Xi said in his first address to the forum since 2017.
He called for a united global community to face common challenges, citing periods in history where “humanity has learned lessons the hard way.”
“Confrontation will lead us to a dead end. Humanity has learned lessons the hard way, and that history is not long gone. We must not return to the path of the past,” he said.
Xi urged the G-20 nations and the European Union to strengthen their bonds to serve as the “main forum for global economic governance” and for closer economic cooperation between countries.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked at Monday’s briefing about Xi’s comments on unity and whether that changes how the administration will view relations with Beijing.
“No. The comments don’t change anything. We believe that this moment requires a strategic and a new approach forward,” she said, adding that the Biden White House wants to approach China with “some strategic patience” and “conduct reviews internally.”
Psaki went on to note that the US is in “serious competition with China” and that this “strategic competition” is the “defining feature” of this century.
She also said China engages in conduct that harms American workers, seeks a technological advantage over the US and threatens “our alliances and our influence in international organizations.”
“What we’ve seen over the last few years is that China’s growing more authoritarian at home and more assertive abroad, and Beijing is now challenging our security, prosperity and values in significant ways that require a new US approach,” Psaki said.
In reference to former President Donald Trump, who challenged China on trade, human rights and its botched response to the coronavirus, Xi decried confrontation, saying it “will always end up harming every nation’s interests and sacrificing people’s welfare.”
Before leaving office, Trump extended his ban against Chinese telecom giant Huawei from US communication networks until May 2021 because of the threat to national security.
Psaki was asked if Biden will continue to enforce the ban.
She said the president is “firmly committed” that Chinese companies “will not misappropriate and misuse American data.”
“China has been willing to do whatever it takes to gain a technological advantage, stealing intellectual property engaging in industrial espionage,” she responded. “Our view – the president’s view – is we need to play a better defense, which must include holding China accountable for its unfair and illegal practices and making sure that American technologies aren’t facilitating China’s military buildup.”
Biden did not attend the forum, deciding instead to send his climate czar John Kerry, while he pushes for his legislative agenda in the first days of his administration.
Xi also confirmed that China plans to cut carbon emissions by 65 percent by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060 – even as China emits a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases.
“Meeting these targets will require tremendous hard work from China. But we believe that when the interests of the entire humanity are at stake, China must step forward, take action and get the job done,” Xi said.
With Post wires