Xi urges cooperation as his policies signal rising tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for countries to strengthen cooperation and avoid conflict on Thursday, even as his assertive policies in the Pacific set him on a collision course with the incoming U.S. administration.

Speaking via video link to a conference of world leaders organized by France’s Emmanuel Macron, Xi repeated China’s opposition to “hegemony” in international affairs, a term China has often used to describe American behavior. He also called on nations to “embrace openness and cooperation to jointly promote recovery” after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Xi’s remarks are his first major address since the results of last week’s U.S. presidential election became clear, though he did not mention the election or acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Instead, he stressed the need for “stable global supply chains” and the importance of multilateralism. Xi has made support for free trade and international institutions a key talking point as President Donald Trump has sought to limit China’s access to sensitive technologies and imposed unilateral sanctions on China.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, speaking at the same event, sketched out an agenda for shoring up the institutions of the multilateral world order after Covid-19 and after Donald Trump’s presidency.

Arden urged leaders to deliver on the Paris Climate Accord and defend bodies like the World Trade Organization, which has been undermined by obstruction from the Trump administration.

“We must protect and respect the role of our international dispute settlement bodies and accountability mechanisms,” Ardern said in a video message.

U.S.-China tensions are likely to remain a challenge to the established global order under the incoming Biden administration, even as Xi stresses cooperation. On Wednesday, the Chinese leader effectively neutered the most democratic institution under his rule by passing a resolution allowing Hong Kong to disqualify lawmakers insufficiently loyal to Beijing.

Biden has frequently criticized China’s assertive policies in its neighborhood as well as Beijing’s human rights record. He even branded Xi a “thug” during a televised debate in February.

“Our multilaterialism is extremely weakened either because of the emergence of new regional powers with agendas and goals that aren’t compatible with it, or because we collectively weakened this multilaterialism, sometimes making it hostage to our own interests or disagreements,” Macron said. “Many things have to be rebuilt. Because our world has never been so inter-dependent.”