Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his Pacific island counterparts they have nothing to fear from his country’s growing economic clout.
He made the comments at the Davao Summit of the ASEAN bloc of 10 Asian and Pacific countries.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Chao said China held up three flags – “A” flag, symbolising the cooperation within the ASEAN countries, the “B” flag representing those not yet part of the ASEAN, and the “X” flag, representing countries that do not want to collaborate with China.
President Xi made clear that China wants to work in collaboration with the rest of the region.
At the same time, he said, China won’t seek to dominate, bully or create any ‘core interests’ with its power, like with the use of force.
Xi stressed, “We should make a decisive contribution in opening up Asia, introducing more pragmatic, practical, open, and sustainable development, concrete achievements for the benefit of Asia.”