Mid-month, two of the most significant multilateral diplomatic events in international politics kicked off in Latin America.

On the —, the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was held in Lima, Peru, with the theme "Empowerment, Inclusiveness, Growth," aiming to jointly explore new growth drivers and build prosperity and stability for the Asia-Pacific region and the global economy. On the —, the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit will also kick off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the theme "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet," seeking a path of sustainable development that integrates economy, society, and environment.

The two summits are comprehensive and representative, covering major world powers as well as regional small countries; both developed and developing economies; members of the G7 as well as the BRICS. Behind the flowers and applause lie the games and collisions of different interests, positions, and propositions. Today, Jiu Wan Li will guide you through the key points of contention in these two summits.

The 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was held in Lima, Peru. Focus 1: Trade Protectionism vs. Open Cooperation. Currently, the global economy is struggling to recover, and countries should be working together to address this challenge. However, in recent years, the United States and Western countries have allowed trade protectionism to run rampant, risking plunging the global economy into a closed quagmire. Donald Trump, who has just won the U.S. presidential election, campaigned on a platform of "America First," using trade barriers as a campaign tactic and threatening to impose high tariffs on imported goods once in office. Across the Atlantic, the European Union has also begun to stray from its original commitment to supporting free trade, misusing trade tools and creating obstacles for international economic and trade cooperation. From establishing "carbon tariffs" to imposing high anti-subsidy taxes on Chinese electric vehicles, the EU has increasingly found itself on the defensive at the World Trade Organization.

Unlike the United States and Western countries, the "Global South" countries represented by China advocate an open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial trade philosophy, explicitly opposing trade protectionism, and are committed to promoting the construction of an open world economic system, facilitating the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment. In recent years, China has introduced a series of significant measures to promote high-level opening up. In [month], China proposed the establishment of the first national-level expo focused on imports—the China International Import Expo. Recently, the seventh China International Import Expo concluded successfully, effectively advancing global open cooperation. The Import Expo has become a bright business card for China's opening up.

From [date] to [date], the 7th China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai. Focus 2: Small Circles, True Multilateralism. In recent years, the US government has adhered to the concept of "small yards and high walls," continuously creating exclusive small circles, which seriously contravenes the general trend of economic globalization and severely disrupts the world economic order. On [date] next year, the knowledgeable leader is set to begin a second term, and "withdrawal from groups" may once again become a priority in US foreign policy. Whether it is small circles or "withdrawal from groups," the fundamental purpose of the United States is to serve its own hegemonic interests and the needs of great power competition. Such practices will only undermine the multilateral trade system, shake the foundation of the global value chain, and bring nothing but harm to the global economy.

Unlike the United States and Western countries, the "Global South" countries, including China, have always been supporters and defenders of the multilateral trading system, committed to promoting global economic governance towards a more open, inclusive, equitable, balanced, and win-win direction. Over the years, China has actively promoted regional economic cooperation, jointly building the Belt and Road with its Asia-Pacific partners, and implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with high quality. These efforts have made significant contributions to maintaining the free trade system and advancing regional economic integration. This point is also clearly seen by people around the world.

On a certain date, with the departure of a China-Europe freight train from the Tuanjiecun Station in Chongqing, the cumulative number of China-Europe freight train services exceeded 10,000. Focus Three: Dominance vs. Inclusiveness. Currently, with the rapid development of global information technology and the digital economy, the focus of great power competition is increasingly centered on rule-making and standard-setting. In recent years, developed economies such as the United States, leveraging their "first-mover advantage" in related technologies, have been attempting to monopolize the formulation of international rules and standards, thereby consolidating their advantageous positions, maintaining hegemonic systems, and even restricting or hindering the development and progress of other countries. To protect its interests in the service and high-tech industries, the United States has been promoting American-style free trade agreements, overemphasizing intellectual property protection and market access, coercing other countries to relax data localization requirements, which poses significant risks and challenges for developing countries. This approach is fundamentally an economic hegemony.

Countries in the "Global South," including China, have consistently advocated that the formulation of international rules and standards should be inclusive and equitable, reflecting the differences in development stages and needs of various countries. They oppose the imposition of standards and rules by developed economies on others and oppose economic hegemonism. China also advocates for an inclusive and equitable economic globalization, aiming to address the issue of imbalanced development among nations caused by the global allocation of resources. Promoting the democratization of international economic relations, China and the vast majority of "Global South" countries have been on this path.

Focus Four: Passing Knives and Fanning Flames, Encouraging Peace and Promoting Talks. Although both forums focus on economic cooperation, security issues are always unavoidable. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, the West has not only continued to pass knives, fan flames, and take sides, but also deliberately tied economic issues with security matters, seizing every opportunity to promote the Western narrative and force the vast majority of "Global South" countries to take sides. At the 2022 Bali Summit in Indonesia, Western countries boycotted the Russian representative's speech, making it the first summit without a group photo. At the 2023 New Delhi Summit in India, Western countries repeated the same script, ultimately leading to the failure of all ministerial-level meetings to produce a joint communique. It is foreseeable that at this summit, the West will still harp on the same old tune, hijacking the conference agenda with their political stance.

The logo of the 2012 Rio de Janeiro Summit in Brazil. A few countries, such as the United States, have adopted double standards on the Israel-Palestine issue, turning a blind eye to the severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has long made them a "global minority" in terms of morality. In sharp contrast, the vast majority of "global South" countries, including China, have consistently stood on the side of peace, justice, and righteousness, advocating for political solutions to geopolitical conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and actively promoting ceasefires and cessation of hostilities.

It is evident that "rejecting a new Cold War" and "rejecting bloc confrontation" have become the common voice of the vast majority of countries around the world. In today's world filled with turbulence and transformation, dialogue between nations is always better than no dialogue, and communication is always stronger than no communication. We believe that at these two summits, China's ideas, wisdom, and solutions will undoubtedly provide more positive energy for world peace and development.