Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping emphasized scientific and technological advancement with a “global perspective” during Asian Games Week, which is themed, “Tide rising from Asia.”.While visiting capital city Hangzhou in Zhejiang, a province in east China, in anticipation of the Asian Games which kicked off Saturday, Xi advised regional leaders to increase innovation until it has scientific forces that will “accelerate breakthroughs” around the globe. .Xi emphasized the escalating “tech war” between China and western nations, and said a lot more needs to be done in its science and tech sectors. .“We should put the enhancement of scientific and technological innovation capacity in a more prominent position, integrate scientific and technological innovation forces and advantageous resources, and accelerate breakthroughs in the frontier fields of science and technology," Xi said to local officials, according to state media Xinhua..“The development of the industrial supply chain must be planned with a global perspective and the resilience and security level of the industrial supply chain must be continuously improved,” Xi continued. .“[We must] strengthen the main roles of enterprises in technological innovation, push ahead and deepen the integration of the different chains of innovation, industry, capital and human resources, (so that) the fruit of our research and development can be realized.”.Xi, who served as governor and party secretary in the province between 2002 and 2007, met other world leaders at a welcome banquet before appearing in the opening ceremony of the Asian Games Saturday..Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo were present, as well as Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand, and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu..Xi promoted the “shared future” and sense of “community” between each nation represented at the banquet, calling for “peace, solidarity and inclusiveness through sports,” according to the South China Morning Post, and said Asian countries should adhere to “good neighbourliness” and “mutual benefit” while turning away from “cold-war mentality” and “camp-based confrontation.” .“[We can make Asia] an anchor for world peace,” Xi said at the banquet. .The previous Wednesday, Xi met with workers at a trading hub in the city where he had a similar speech emphasizing China’s place in the global market. .He told the traders to focus on “the expansion of domestic and international markets and smoothing trade circulation both domestically and internationally.”.Xi also toured small villages while in the province, where he announced these rural areas would soon be “a place to show their talents” he hoped more young people would join in the cause. .The China Communist Party (CCP) had been posting China’s unemployment rates since April 2023, which reported a 20% unemployment rate for young people between 16 and 24 years old. .Authorities no longer release new data on the issue. .“The employment problems of key groups must be solved,” Xi said. .When asked about the former CCP secretary of Huangzhou, who received a death sentence for corruption in 2021 which was carried out in July 2023, Xi said his goal is to have “close and clean”' new relationships between the CCP and local businesses. .Despite Xi’s insistence on shared values and community, Mark Dreyer, author of Sporting Superpower, a book about China's ambitions through sport, said the Asian Games are a distraction for China’s real goals. .“You have got Xi Jinping attending the opening ceremony and this is being pushed by state media as a sort of diplomatic friendship-building initiative with China taking centre stage,” Dreyer said..“If nothing else, the Games will be a distraction from (economic issues) because China will do very well. Is that going to make up for the day-to-day pain that people may or may not be experiencing? Probably not, but I don’t think it will hurt.”
