Sri Lankan PM lauds China's commitment to multilateralism, free trade, UN system

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya lauded the efforts China has made to practice multilateralism, safeguard free trade, and uphold the UN-centered international system.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG) released on Friday, Amarasuriya said China's commitment to multilateralism is critical for a world faced with severe global governance challenges.

"I think China's commitment to multilateralism, China's commitment to the UN system, I think all of this is very critical at this moment and very important. China's commitment to fair trade, to free trade, all of this is very important," she said.

Regarding the current challenges facing the world, she said world leaders should look for collaboration instead of isolation.

"The world is going through many disruptions and quite uncertain. Things are much more complicated and complex than it has been. War and conflict is never a good thing, and often it's the most vulnerable segments of any community that is most affected. And we saw what happened in Gaza and in the Middle East when the conflict was at its height, what it did to women and children in particular. I think it's really important that as leaders, we continue to look for peaceful solutions, look to conflict resolution, look towards working with each other based on mutual respect and collaboration and cooperation. And that we ensure that what we do is sustainable but also peaceful," said the prime minister.

"Ultimately, as leaders, we are responsible for the lives of human beings. And the decisions we make really have consequences that sometimes can be quite terrible. So, we really need to always make sure that the consequences of our decisions do not harm even the most vulnerable, specially, I would say, the most vulnerable in our countries, in our nations. And I don't think we can think in isolation anymore. What we do affects other countries, other nations, other societies, and we have to be mindful of that. We live in a globally connected world. I think in the words of President Xi, we have to think of a shared future and a shared journey, and this is something that we need to be mindful of all the time and not think in isolation," said Amarasuriya.

Sri Lankan PM lauds China's commitment to multilateralism, free trade, UN system

The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.

The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.

Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.

All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.

He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.

The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.

2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results