Xi: Asia-Pacific is ‘no one’s backyard’

• On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. In his written speech (Zh/En), Xi urged the countries to follow the paths of peaceful development, openness and inclusiveness, and solidarity as the world reaches a crossroads. He also said that the Asia-Pacific is “no one’s backyard.” The President will attend the two-day APEC 2022 Summit beginning today, with U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin absent from the event.

Xi meets with leaders of Thailand, Singapore, Japan

• President Xi arrived in Bangkok yesterday and met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. (Zh/En), Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Zh/En), and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Zh/En) separately. In the meeting with Kishida, Xi raised the issues of Taiwan, the maritime and territorial disputes, and the cooperation in areas such as the digital economy and green development.

• A day before going to Thailand, the President met with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres (Zh/En), Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Zh/En), and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Zh/En) in Bali. Xi also signed a joint statement (Zh/En) with Widodo on strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Nancy Pelosi steps down

• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will step down after being the House Democratic leader for 20 years. Ms. Pelosi, 82, will continue to serve in the House. She was the first female party leader in Congress and was the protagonist of the recent Taiwan crisis soothed by the G20 meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi.