China Briefing | Towards a new order, Xi Jinping touts Asia-Pacific dream
The Chinese president uses the Apec summit in Beijing to try to rally Asia-Pacific leaders around the idea of common progress and prosperity
Just two weeks after Xi Jinping came to power this month two years ago, he took six new members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee to the National Museum next to Tiananmen Square and said for the first time that the greatest "Chinese dream" was to "realise the great renewal of the Chinese nation".
He has repeated the slogan in key speeches since then, although he has been short on specifics on making the dream a reality. Understandably, this has led to worries over what it means for China's neighbours and other members of the international community.
But there have been clear signs that Xi is pursuing bold ambitions at home and abroad with an eye to setting up a new international order led by China, a rising superpower to compete with the United States.
At home, Xi has consolidated control more quickly than any other Chinese leader in recent years with an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign to shore up party rule and a radical overhaul of the economy to let market forces play a decisive role. Abroad, he has largely repudiated China's low-profile approach to international affairs by more deftly employing the carrot-and-stick approach to pursue its international agenda. Beijing has aggressively put down its markers in territorial disputes with it neighbours, but has also ramped up its investment and trade deals to make regional economies more tied to China.
So it was timely that he marked his second anniversary in power by playing host in Beijing to US President Barack Obama and other leaders at the 21-economy Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
As Xi unveiled a series of economic, environmental and other initiatives, China also showcased its first serious attempts to exert leadership in the Asia-Pacific.
On the eve of the summit, Xi purposely invited heads of governments from some of China's neighbours to Beijing, where he announced a US$40 billion Silk Road fund for regional infrastructure, a massive project aimed at reviving historical trade routes between China and other Asian countries. This followed the announcement last month of the establishment of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
