The 2025 Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit was held in Beijing on Thursday, with China calling for greater efforts to deepen cooperation to facilitate global trade, which faces headwinds from the tariffs imposed by the United States.
As the first major global business gathering since China and the United States reached a trade agreement in Geneva earlier this month, the 2025 Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit, sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), brought together nearly 400 foreign delegates from 48 other countries and regions.
While addressing the forum, Ren Hongbin, chairman of the CCPIT, released one of the major outcomes of the gathering -- the "Beijing Initiative of Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit 2025", part of which calls for beefed-up efforts to promote balanced and sustainable development of global trade and investment.
"Efforts should be made to promote liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, boost interconnectivity of digital rules, and encourage development of emerging trade forms such as cross-border e-commerce, digital trade and trade in services, to promote balanced and sustainable development of global trade and investment," Ren said in addressing the event.
On the sidelines of the summit, foreign delegates, including president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), praised the results achieved between the world's two biggest economies in Geneva.
"The good news is, it looks like the American government and the Chinese government have come to an agreement for a 90-day pause. Across the American Chamber of Commerce, we believe that U.S. and China should continue to trade with each other, and so we're looking forward to finding ways to cooperate," said Michael Hart, president of the AmCham China.
The Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit was first held in 2022.
The summit this year focused on the theme of embracing the era of digital and smart technologies and working together towards common development.
China calls for more trade cooperation amid headwinds from tariffs
Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Italy and Greece on Saturday to protest against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, with protesters in Rome, Milan and Athens condemning Washington's actions and calling for respect for Venezuelan sovereignty.
In Rome, more than 1,000 demonstrators marched toward the area near the U.S. Embassy, calling on Washington to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Police blocked roads around the embassy to prevent protesters from approaching the building, but demonstrators continued to denounce U.S. actions.
"First of all, we oppose U.S. imperialist aggression. This kind of behavior is shameful. The U.S. is attacking a sovereign country, and as [U.S. President Donald] Trump himself has said, this is for oil interests," said protester Giovanni Barbera.
Saturday's rally marked the second large-scale protest in Rome this month against U.S. military operations in Venezuela, following an earlier one on on Jan 3.
Participants included members of multiple political parties, labor unions and social organizations. The protesters held banners reading "Stop imperialist interference" and "Free Maduro," urging the international community to respect Venezuela's sovereignty and the will of its people, and condemning the U.S. for violating international law.
"We are protesting the way the U.S. handles international politics. Since the events of January 3, we have seen violations of international law, and we are very concerned about how the global situation is developing," said protester Stefano De Angelis.
Organizers said solidarity rallies in support of Venezuela were held in 30 Italian cities on the same day.
Meanwhile, similar protests were also staged in Greece. About 200 people gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens, voicing support for Venezuela and opposition to U.S. military actions.
"We oppose U.S. imperialism and its attack on Venezuela. At the same time, the U.S. is also threatening Cuba, Mexico and Greenland. We must stand up against this behavior," said Greek protester Argiro Sirmakezi.
Protesters rally in Italy, Greece against U.S. military operation in Venezuela
