Klaus Schwab had invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to give what he labeled the “keynote” to his World Economic Forum, this year devoted to Schwab’s “Great Reset” gambit. Given the economic role of China in the world today, which is still suffering the economic effects of the COVID crisis, President Xi, who also had addressed the Davos Forum, last year, used the opportunity to present China’s ideas on which direction the world should travel in its fight to overcome COVID and reviving world economic growth.
Expressing confidence that the world would overcome the pandemic, Xi stated that things would not simply return to what they were pre-COVID, in his speech, which he titled, “Let the Torch of Multilateralism Light Up Humanity’s Way Forward.” The first task before mankind, he said, was to use macroeconomic policy “to bring the economy out of the woods.” “We need to shift the driving forces and growth models of the global economy and improve its structure, so as to set the course for long-term, sound and steady development of the world economy.” Secondly, countries will have to “abandon ideological prejudice and jointly follow a path of peaceful coexistence, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.” Countries are diverse and have diverse cultures and civilizations, Xi said, and that diversity should be respected since it is the source of the world’s strength. No should impose a “hierarchy” on civilizations or try to impose their system on others, he warned.
Xi also said the world must come together to confront global challenges, citing COVID and climate change as two of the major issues. He elaborated some of his own vision for the world coming out of COVID, calling for adherence to the international rule of law, maintaining cooperation rather than confrontation, rejecting decoupling and a new “Cold War” mentality. and keeping pace with the changing times in international institutions and policies. He expressed China’s support for the World Health Organization, but called for a reform of the World Trade Organization and the international financial and monetary system “in a way that boosts global economic growth and protects the development rights, interests and opportunities of developing countries.”
He also reiterated that China would remain open to the world and would contribute its own ideas to these reforms. And while saying that countries should live up to their commitments in the Paris agreements, and that China was committed to “peak” its carbon emissions by 2030 (the earlier date set for this) even though it would be difficult, he also gave an indication of their motivation. “We are doing this as a concrete action to uphold multilateralism and as a contribution to protecting our shared home and realizing sustainable development of humanity,” Xi said. The road China will take is not through imposing austerity on its people, but on rapidly moving forward with the development of science and technology. “Science, technology and innovation is a key engine for human progress, a powerful weapon in tackling many global challenges, and the only way for China to foster a new development paradigm and achieve high-quality development,” Xi said. “China will invest more in science and technology, develop an enabling system for innovation as a priority, turn breakthroughs in science and technology into actual productivity at a faster pace, and enhance intellectual property protection, all for the purpose of fostering innovation-driven, higher-quality growth.”
In conclusion, Xi reiterated his call for a new type of international relations: “Zero-sum game or winner-takes-all is not the guiding philosophy of the Chinese people. As a staunch follower of an independent foreign policy of peace, China is working hard to bridge differences through dialogue and resolve disputes through negotiation and to pursue friendly and cooperative relations with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. As a steadfast member of developing countries, China will further deepen South-South cooperation, and contribute to the endeavor of developing countries to eradicate poverty, ease debt burden, and achieve more growth. China will get more actively engaged in global economic governance and push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.” The text of President Xi’s speech is available in various Chinese sites: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-01-25/Full-text-Xi-Jinping-s-speech-at-the-virtual-Davos-Agenda-event-Xln4hwjO2Q/index.html
Klaus Schwab and his “little green men” may think that they have the giant economy of China in their evil designs for a London financial takeover of the Green World Economy post-COVID through the “Green Reset,” because of the commitment of China to its own form of creating a “beautiful China.” But these “little men” with their little ideas have not quite understood that China’s view of the future world is somewhat different from their own and perhaps far grander than they could possibly imagine.