What they said about Xi Jinping’s keynote speech in Davos
The global elite who gather at Davos each January have waited more than 40 years for a Chinese president to address them. And Xi Jinping was worth the wait, delivering a rollicking defence of globalisation that would have been unthinkable from a Chinese leader in the past.
GRAEME WEARDEN
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, set the tone for the weeklong conference in an impassioned speech, sprinkled with Chinese proverbs, metaphors and historical references.
SAM DEAN
In a world troubled by grave uncertainties over the basics governing trade, security and the mission to limit climate change, President Xi Jinping of China on Tuesday portrayed his nation as a responsible global citizen dedicated to furthering international integration.
PETER S. GOODMAN
In a wide-ranging speech that went from global angst to China’s new normal, Xi sounded all the right notes that global capital needed to hear; protectionism is like “locking oneself in a dark room,” and “no one is a winner in a trade war.” His speech delved into the necessity of peace in Syria, the perverse effects of the absence of financial regulation, and the struggle for “balance between efficiency and equity.”
PEPE ESCOBAR
Ready or not, China has become the de facto world leader seeking to maintain an open global economy and battle climate change. In effect, President Xi has become the “core leader” of globalization.
NATHAN GARDELS
He was billed as the star of the show and Xi Jinping, the president of China, did not disappoint. Xi Jinping, who spoke slowly and eloquently at Davos, was positively patrician and presidential, in the US or European sense of that term. Xi’s speech was warmly received and it’s hard to disagree with his analysis that we are all swimming in “the vast ocean of the global market”.
DEARBHAIL MCDONALD
In his Davos speech, the Chinese president tried to pose as the champion of international liberalism and globalization. It’s a bit rich, but it’s no longer entirely unbelievable.
EDITORIAL BY THE GLOBE AND MAIL