The full text of the speech
Four years ago, at Davos in Switzerland,
defended globalization and anointed himself its leader and protector.
It was the first time a Chinese leader had addressed the glitzy gathering of the global elite, and it made a lasting impression, coming just a few days before Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, and the beginning of an American pivot away from multilateral institutions and the global system.
Today (Jan. 25),
, but this time on video. He brought up some of the same themes from his 2017 speech, including multilateralism and climate change. Without mentioning Trump by name, Xi criticized the former US president’s trade war with China. And without naming the US or Joe Biden, he predicted that a conflict between Beijing and Washington would be bad for everyone.
Xi called for global collaboration on climate change, public health, technology, and saving the global economy. China is in pole position to lead on some of these issues. It recently made an ambitious pledge to become
, and its economy is recovering much faster than others: It
in 2020, the only major economy to do so, and is expected to
this year.
He said international institutions, including the World Health Organization, should be strengthened, and called for more collaboration on vaccines and help for developing nations. And he warned other countries not to “meddle” in China’s affairs, a phrase often used to describe international condemnation of Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan, or Tibet.
Xi’s speech may have sounded similar to the one he gave four years ago, but the context has massively changed. The pandemic has sparked a backlash against China among some Western nations. And after four years of Trump, China is hoping that Joe Biden’s administration will be more amenable to restoring relations, rather than continuing its predecessor’s trade war.
In a key reference to the US and its allies’ responses to China, Xi said that “to build small circles, or…wilfully impose decoupling, supply disruption, or sanctions…will only push the world into division and even confrontation.” (The Trump administration
, while Biden has expressed support for a
that includes India, South Korea, and Australia.)
You can watch Xi’s speech
, and a full transcript follows, with some significant passages in bold: