Kuala lumpur: Openness brings progress, while closure leads to backwardness, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Saturday when commenting on U.S.-imposed high tariffs against various countries.

According to Namibia Press Agency, amid the ongoing mixture of changes and chaos in the current international situation, every country must make a choice between unilateralism and multilateralism, closeness and openness, unity and division. Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was in the Malaysian capital attending the ASEAN Plus foreign ministers' meetings.

China's choice is to be more open, Wang stressed, explaining that this is not only the basic experience of China's development and growth but also the inevitable logic of history moving forward. He highlighted China's initiatives, such as providing zero-tariff treatment for products to the least developed countries and the entire Africa, completing negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and creating a new model of cross-regional cooperation at the ASEAN-China-GCC summit.

In contrast, Wang criticized the high tariffs imposed on various countries as a clear violation of World Trade Organization rules. He argued that these tariffs disrupt the stable operation of production and supply chains and hinder the recovery and development of the world economy, describing them as irresponsible, unpopular, and unsustainable.

Wang affirmed that China will continue to stand firmly with countries in the region, promoting unity, cooperation, and collective strength. He emphasized that China will always be an advocate of multilateralism, a defender of free trade, and a contributor to open development.