Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a warning to Asia Pacific nations not to "relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era" during his APEC address.
The President was the second world leader after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to speak at the APEC CEO Summit, hosted in Auckland. Media were alerted late on Wednesday night that Xi Jinping would speak in the opening session.
The President spent most of his address speaking about the importance of tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, and how crucial it is for Asia Pacific nations to work together to keep supply chains open and share innovations.
But Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People's Republic of China since 2013, also warned Asia Pacific nations against ganging up on each other.
"We should be forward-looking, move ahead, and reject practices of discrimination and exclusion of others. Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical circles on geopolitical grounds are bound to fail," he said, as per an interpreter.
"The Asia Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era."
The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union - a rivalry that lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and proxy warfare, most notably the Korea War and Vietnam War.
It's anyone's guess who Xi Jinping's remarks were directed at, but it's no secret relations between China and Australia have been strained ever since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, which was first reported in China.
China responded by imposing tariffs or export tax on Australian commodities, including wine and barley, and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes. The United States described the move as "economic coercion".
Australia has since ramped up its alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom by means of the AUKUS pact, a deal in which our cousins across the Tasman will get kitted out with nuclear submarines.
New Zealand's relationship with China has also hit several rocky patches, not least of all when the Government in July announced that "Chinese state-sponsored actors" were behind "malicious cyber activity" detected by spy agencies.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has raised on several occasions concerns about China's human rights record regarding Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region and the encroachment of democracy in Hong Kong.
A statement last week following Ardern's phone call with Xi Jinping said: "The Prime Minister took the opportunity to reiterate New Zealand's concerns over developments in Xinjiang and Hong Kong."
And while commentators have speculated that New Zealand has sold its soul to China, there are signs the Government is pivoting away, as signalled by Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta when she urged exporters earlier this year to diversify, fearing a "storm" of anger from China would make us vulnerable.
But Mahuta has also said she hopes New Zealand's role in hosting APEC this year could help nations come together.
New Zealand has already played an intermediary role by playing third party to Australia's formal appeal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over China's decision to impose hefty tariffs.
In her APEC speech ahead of Xi Jinping, Ardern said she was "pleased to say APEC has stood up and rejected protectionism" in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The region has defied history by avoiding the scourge of beggar-thy-neighbour trade policies that choke-off trade and drive poverty by reducing economic activity, growth and employment across all our economies," she said.
"In fact the reverse is true. This year, all APEC economies have worked to make trade easier as we battle the pandemic. Most have introduced paperless trading to get goods across borders easier - that saves money and time for all businesses."
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison didn't mention China during his APEC Q&A session. He mostly spoke about the importance of technological innovation, online safety and the responsibility of social media platforms.
