“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has gravely violated the UN Charter and international law and profoundly undermined the rules-based international order,” he told the forum.
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“Most worrying is the state of relations between the US and China because they have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with one another because any clash between them will have grievous consequences for themselves and the world.”
Lee said economic imperatives were being overshadowed by national security concerns.
“Countries are pursuing self-reliance and resilience by on shoring or friend-shoring their supply chains. The bifurcation in technological and economic systems is deepening.
“The economic cooperation between China and its Asian neighbours will be more robust if it is underpinned by a sound,broader relationship,which builds mutual trust and fosters regional stability,” he said.
Xi,Li and their Foreign Ministry have been on a diplomatic blitz since China opened its borders after COVID in an attempt to drive foreign investment and push its vision of global development over the US-led order of the past century. Beijing’s foreign publicity push contrasts with an internal crackdown on companies that have drawn them closer to the Chinese government,raising security risks for those operating there.The New York Timesreported five local employees at the American due diligence firm Mintz Group were detained last week.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he welcomed the intensification of diplomatic contact between Chinese authorities and world leaders.
“Our views may differ in some areas,but we must continue to build bridges and increase mutual trust,” he said.
“But we have to do it in a way that will respect the sovereignty of each country and respect the rules. It means opening the East,so the West doesn’t have to close in itself.”
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Li’s message was warmly received by leaders from developing countries and China’s economic partners.
China spent $US240 billion ($359 billion) bailing out debts from 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021 according to a report released on Tuesday by researchers from the World Bank,Harvard Kennedy School,AidData and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Beijing has been promoting its Global Development Initiative which emphasises economic growth over conventional human rights outcomes,in a push to transform decades of development funding into broader political power.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Xi’s theories on socialism with Chinese characteristics,and the Chinese path to modernisation were “equally legitimate ways of viewing the world and different paths of interpreting and achieving socio-economic progress”.
Patrick Achi,the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast,said China’s “momentous development of the past 50 years is inspiring for all of us”.
“The Chinese people have used their human capital to create tremendous wealth at an unprecedented rate.”
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