00:00Tariff and trade wars have no winners.
00:03Beyond driving up costs for production and trade,
00:06they fragment the world economy
00:09and disrupt the global distribution of resources.
00:12We never seek trade surplus.
00:14On top of being the world's factory,
00:16we hope to be the world's market too.
00:19However, in many cases,
00:22when China wants to buy,
00:24others don't want to sell.
00:27Trade issues often become security hurdles.
00:31We will give full play to our supersized market,
00:36step up our efforts to expand import
00:39and strengthen industrial cooperation
00:41so that countries can better share in China's opportunities.
00:44Facts have demonstrated once again
00:47that China and the United States
00:49will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,
00:53and that they should and can help each other succeed
00:57and prosper together.
00:59As we speak, transformation not seen in a century
01:04is accelerating across the world.
01:06Rising unilateralism and protection,
01:08compounded by the impacts of regional conflicts
01:11and geopolitics,
01:12are bringing new changes to the global economic and trade order.
01:16In particular, since last year,
01:18tariff and trade wars have inflicted significant shocks
01:22on the world economy
01:23and opposed serious challenges
01:25to multilateralism and free trade.
01:28In response to the changes of the world,
01:31of our times and in the dynamics,
01:33President Xi has put forward
01:35the Global Development Initiative,
01:37the Global Security Initiative,
01:39the Global Civilization Initiative,
01:41and last year,
01:43the Global Governance Initiative,
01:46pulling consensus and strength for solidarity
01:49and cooperation over division and confrontation,
01:52and providing China's solution
01:56to the common problems of the world.
01:58In light of the current situation,
02:00I wish to share a few observations.
02:02First, we should firmly support free trade
02:05and jointly promote a universally beneficial
02:08and inclusive economic globalization.
02:11Economic globalization,
02:13driven by international specialization,
02:15collaboration,
02:17complementary strengths,
02:18and the pursuit of win-win,
02:20is a prevailing trend of history.
02:22It has benefited many countries,
02:23including China,
02:24and enabled them to achieve fast development.
02:27On the contrary,
02:29tariff and trade wars have no winners.
02:32Beyond driving up costs for production and trade,
02:35they fragment the world economy
02:38and disrupt the global distribution of resources.
02:41WTO data shows that the share of global trade
02:45under most favored nation terms
02:47has dropped from 80% at the beginning of last year
02:52to 72%.
02:54The IMF estimates that economic fragmentation
02:57can reduce global economic output by about 7%.
03:01That is in no country's interest.
03:04While economic globalization is not perfect
03:09and may cause some problems,
03:11we cannot completely reject it
03:21and retreat to self-imposed isolation.
03:24The right approach should be,
03:27and can only be,
03:28to find solutions together through dialogue
03:31and steer economic globalization in the correct direction.
03:37China advocates a universally beneficial
03:40and inclusive economic globalization.
03:43We are committed to building bridges, not walls.
03:47We will firmly support trade and investment liberalization
03:51and facilitation,
03:52and continue to share development opportunities with the world.
03:56We will work with all parties to create a bright future of prosperity and development,
04:02where every country and every community shares the dividends of development.
04:06Second, we should firmly safeguard multilateralism
04:09and make the international economic and trade order more just and equitable.
04:13The multilateral trading system now faces the most serious challenges in years.
04:20The unilateral acts and trade deals of certain countries clearly violate the fundamental principles and rules of the WTO,
04:28and severely impact the global economic and trade order.
04:32As President Xi Jinping noted,
04:34at difficult times we must uphold our original commitment to peaceful coexistence
04:40and strengthen our confidence in win-win cooperation.
04:44Multilateralism is the right way to keep the international order stable
04:48and promote humanity's development and progress.
04:51The rules must apply equally to everyone.
04:54A handful of countries should not enjoy privileges based on their strengths,
05:00and the world must not return to the law of the jungle where the strong bully the weak.
05:06Every country is entitled to defend its legitimate rights and interests.
05:12Since joining the WTO, China has strictly followed the organization's rules,
05:17earnestly fulfilled its commitments and taken voluntary steps to contribute more.
05:22Last year, it solemnly announced that it will not seek new, special and differential treatment
05:29in current and future negotiations at the WTO.
05:33China will continue to firmly uphold the WTO-centred, rules-based multilateral trading system
05:38and firmly support the reforms of multilateral institutions, including the WTO and the IMF,
05:45with a view to enhancing the authority, effectiveness and inclusiveness of the multilateral trading system
05:52and increasing the representation of the global south and developing countries.
05:57China is glad to see countries reaching trade agreements that are mutually beneficial,
06:03but these agreements should comply with WTO rules and not undermine the interests of third parties.
06:09Third, we should pursue win-win cooperation, work together to make the pie bigger, and jointly resolve development issues.
06:19Currently, world economic growth is lacking momentum.
06:23The IMF forecasts global growth of 3.1% for 2026, which is below the pre-COVID average of 3.7%.
06:35What is more worrying is that unfairness continues to grow and sustainable development is facing severe challenges.
06:45According to a UN report, two-thirds of the sustainable development goals will not be met by 2030.
06:57The pursuit of development should not be a you-lose-I-win-zero-sum game.
07:03Rather, every party should play its part and get its fair share.
07:08Making the pie bigger together is more important than fighting for the pie,
07:13and solving problems together is more effective than blaming each other.
07:19China is committed to fostering common prosperity with its trading partners through its own development,
07:29and making the pie bigger for global economy and trade.
07:33We never seek trade surplus.
07:35On top of being the world's factory, we hope to be the world's market, too.
07:40However, in many cases, when China wants to buy, others don't want to sell.
07:48Trade issues often become security hurdles.
07:52On the other hand, services now account for two-thirds of global GDP.
07:59China has recorded a large deficit in its services trade over the long term,
08:06but it never feels being taken advantage of.
08:10We will give full play to our supersized market,
08:14step up our efforts to expand import and strengthen industrial cooperation
08:19so that countries can better share in China's opportunities.
08:23Fourth, we should uphold mutual respect and equal-footed consultation,
08:29and manage differences and solve problems through dialogue.
08:35Last year, economic and trade relations between China and the United States went through some ups and downs.
08:46Guided by the common understandings of the two presidents,
08:49from their meeting in Busan and for phone calls,
08:51Chinese and U.S. teams had five rounds of consultation and economic trade issues.
08:57Following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,
09:02they properly handled some outstanding issues and kept the economic and trade relationship generally stable.
09:10Facts have demonstrated once again that China and the United States will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,
09:19and that they should and can help each other succeed and prosper together.
09:24The trade talks also showed that as long as the two sides engage in equal-footed consultation and work in the same direction,
09:38there will always be more solutions than problems.
09:41To be frank, it's normal for countries with different social systems, stages of development, histories and cultures to encounter divergences and frictions as they develop and interact.
09:57But sometimes these are merely misunderstandings.
10:01The key is to uphold the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit,
10:06build trust through dialogue and resolve disputes through consultation.
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