Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a week-long diplomatic sprint in Southeast Asia this weekend with the conclusion of the APEC summit in Bangkok. Prior to his return to China on Saturday, President Xi restated his ambition to “foster an open, fair and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment” in Asia.
While that sounds benign, the President’s remarks were pointed criticism of the United States and a rebuttal to Washington’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that Beijing dismisses as an “economic clique.”