China’s Xi says countries share responsibility to promote growth, opposes decoupling

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that Beijing opposes “decoupling and breaking links,” according to a CNBC translation of a Chinese-language state media readout.

Promoting economic growth is the shared responsibility of countries in the region, Xi said, per the report of his remarks at a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The SCO is a political, security and trade alliance whose members are China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The group also has “observer states” and “dialogue partners,” which Saudi Arabia was promoted to in March.

China is willing to work with all parties to implement the Global Development Initiative, and make the “cake” bigger so that people in different countries can benefit, the state media report of Xi’s remarks said. Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative to the United Nations in 2021. It claims to include efforts to support U.N. goals for sustainable development.

The country opposes protectionism, unilateral sanctions and generalizing the concept of national security, the report also said Tuesday.

Xi’s remarks come ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s scheduled visit to China this coming Thursday to Sunday. Yellen’s visit follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s high-stakes trip to Beijing last month.

Tensions between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies, have escalated in recent years. Recent measures by both governments have centered on technology.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said late Monday it is restricting the exports of two metals used for semiconductor manufacturing.

The U.S. announced export controls in October that sought to limit China’s development of advanced semiconductors.