Confrontation does not solve problems: Xi
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Monday that confrontation between major powers could have “catastrophic consequences” in a speech to world leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum.
For the second year in a row the face-to-face gathering of political and corporate power players in the Swiss Alps has had to go online thanks to a coronavirus pandemic that shows no sign of abating.
Xi opened proceedings with a speech much like the one he delivered virtually last year.
He touted China - where the coronavirus first emerged - as a rare pandemic success story and the only major economy to continue posting strong growth.
He presented himself as the defender of multilateralism and also gave sober warnings for the future as relations between major powers plunge.
“Our world today is far from the tranquil, rhetoric that stokes hatred and prejudice abound,” he said, according to an official translation of the speech which was streamed online. “History has proved time and again that confrontation does not solve problems, it only invites catastrophic consequences.”
China’s population increased by less than half a million in 2021, recording a drop in births for the fifth consecutive year, latest national data showed on Monday with officials saying that the country’s population has entered a “zero growth” period.
China recorded 10.62 million births in 2021, or only 7.5 births per 1,000 people, the national bureau of statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
It marked the lowest growth rate since the founding of new China under the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1949.
Meanwhile, China’s GDP grew 8.1% in 2021 riding out a slump in the second half of the year when the economy was besieged by a crippling power shortage, real estate sector turmoil and a drop in consumption because of Covid-19-related restrictions.
Fourth quarter GDP rose by 4% from a year ago, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
The country’s total GDP in 2021 reached 114.37 trillion yuan ($18 trillion), the NBS said.