Davos — Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defence of free trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday in a speech that underscored Beijing’s desire to play a greater global role as the US turns inward. In the first appearance by a Chinese leader at the annual meeting of political leaders, CEOs and bankers in the Swiss Alps, Xi also cautioned other countries against blindly pursuing their national interests, in an apparent reference to the "America first" policies of Donald Trump. Trump, who will be inaugurated as US president on Friday, campaigned on a promise to confront China more aggressively on trade. He has vowed to renegotiate or ditch multilateral trade agreements and protect US industries from foreign competition by levying new tariffs on goods from abroad. Xi likened protectionism to "locking oneself in a dark room" in the hopes of protecting oneself from danger, but in so doing, cutting off all "light and air". "No one will emerge as a winner in a t...
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