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Update | Chinese president presses pro-trade message in Switzerland before landmark Davos address

President expected to cover similar ground in keynote speech to World Economic Forum

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Swiss Federal President Doris Leuthard, right, and President Xi Jinping shake hands before official talks in Bern, Switzerland, on Monday. Photo: AP

President Xi Jinping warned against protectionism and populism on Monday, ahead of his keynote address on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

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Xi made the remarks to business executives in Bern, Switzerland, a country China is seeking to consolidate relations with amid fears of a spreading anti-globalisation movement.

“Protectionism, populism and de-globalisation are on the rise. It’s not good for closer economic cooperation globally,” Xi said, adding that Switzerland and China would work together to ­reject all forms of protectionism.

Xi arrived in Bern on Sunday. He will be the first Chinese president to deliver the keynote speech at the World Economic Forum at the Swiss resort of Davos, which will be attended by some 3,000 members of the world’s political and business elite.

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Xi is expected to send a pro-globalisation message in his speech at the forum.

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