Xi Jinping’s chance to woo the world’s elite in Davos

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There will be little cause for liberal elites to uncork the champagne at this year’s World Economic Forum. The internationalist world view celebrated annually at the Swiss resort of Davos is under attack on many fronts, not least of which in Britain and America — two countries hitherto at the forefront of championing a rules-based global system. But this provides an opportunity for the star turn at the 2017 gathering, Chinese President Xi Jinping, when he takes the centre stage this week. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Enter email address Invalid email By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions, cookie policy and privacy policy. At the last WEF meeting, US vice-president Joe Biden warned the hollowing out of middle classes in America and Europe provided fertile terrain for “demagogues peddling xenophobia, anti-immigration, nationalist, isola­tionist views”. How prescient Mr Biden proved. At this year’s gathering, Mr Xi could seize the chance to step in where Washington appears to be on the retreat by standing up for global co-operation on trade, climate change and security. It might be too much to expect the first Chinese leader to attend Davos to soothe the frayed nerves of WEF habitués. China has proved itself at best an opportunistic multilateralist, at worst a spoiler. Beijing’s recent willingness to use commercial clout to wrench its neighbours out of the US sphere of influence shows, if anything, that China is unsubtly putting its self-interest first. At this time of great uncertainty, the Chinese leader could go some way towards easing tensions by showing his country is willing to express itself as a world power in a more managed and transparent way. This would require swapping the anodyne formulas often favoured by Communist party leaders on such occasions for a more frank discussion of where China’s strategic goals really lie. Related article A warning for the losers of the liberal elite If you make the same mistakes in the battles of 2017, populists will win everywhere Thus far, top Chinese officials have been admirably restrained in their response to provocations from incoming US President Donald Trump on everything from trade, to Taiwan and the renminbi. Wisely, they appear to have judged the hostile opinions expressed by the president-elect may yet be tempered when it comes to translating them into policy. Mr Xi can go further and steal the advantage in several ways. He could win friends and influence at Davos first by offering a robust defence of those areas of global co-operation most threatened by the incoming US administration, including free trade and the Paris treaty on climate change. Live event: Year of the Rooster Join FT commentators in London on January 24 to discuss the key risks and opportunities facing China in 2017. On security, he could wrong foot Mr Trump by recognising Washington cannot easily countenance the development of North Korean ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US west coast. In a dawning era of transactional geopolitics, China, he might say, would be willing to use its leverage over Pyongyang more forcefully — were America to be more sensitive to where China’s interests lie. In this vein he might be more explicit about the limits — if there are any — to his expansionary ambitions in the South China Sea. China remains an authoritarian state where the rule of law is subject to interpretation by a single party. No one can be starry-eyed about how far it will go to defend international rules so soon after Beijing flouted the findings of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s on its South China Sea policy. Yet, while his soon-to-be American counterpart would do well to exercise more restraint in his utterances, Mr Xi could conversely afford to be more open. By making the case at Davos for Chinese-led collaboration, he might give Mr Trump some pause for thought. He has a chance to show that America’s loss of influence could quickly become China’s gain.

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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved.

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