Xi Jinping -- proponent of an inter-connected Asia-Pacific

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's first APEC trip coincided with another major milestone.

In 2013, Xi paid a state visit to Indonesia, the host of that year's APEC meeting, and proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a key component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since then, the initiative has grown into a powerful growth engine linking economies across the Asia-Pacific and