New Delhi: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for joint efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring proper distribution and prompt vaccination of vaccines around the world, even as he made no clear reference to the US. also warned against the blame game and cold war mentality. ,
Holding each other back or blaming each other will only lead to unnecessary delay in response and distract us from the main objective, he added.
In a special address on the ‘state of the world’ on the first day of the World Economic Forum’s week-long Davos Agenda summit, he said humanity will certainly move forward but the world needs to jointly defeat the pandemic.
He said, “A giant ship is brave enough to weather the storm. The pandemic is proving to be a protracted one. It affects health and the economy. Holding each other back and blaming each other, will only change our objectives.” ,” They said.
Supporting further opening up of the world economy and greater cooperation, he said, “We must remove barriers, not build walls. We must open, not close. We must seek integration, not Of decoupling. It’s a way of building an open global economy.”
“If major economies come to a halt or make a U-turn in their monetary policies, there will be serious negative spillovers. They will present challenges to global economic and financial stability, and developing countries will bear the brunt,” Jinping said. ,
We need to abandon the Cold War mentality and look for peaceful coexistence and the results of victory, he said.
“Our world today is far from being peaceful; rhetoric that incites hatred and prejudice abounds. The acts of prevention, repression or confrontation caused by it do all harm, not the least good, to world peace and security. History has proved time and again that confrontation does not solve problems, it only invites disastrous consequences,” he said.
Pointing to the US, the Chinese President said that protectionism and unilateralism cannot protect anyone as they ultimately harm the interests of others as well as their own.
Calling for new drivers of economic growth to promote a stable and strong global economic recovery, he said, “worse are the practices of hegemony and bullying, which run against the tide of history. Naturally, between countries.” There are differences and disagreements.” ,
The Chinese President said that some developing countries have fallen back into poverty due to the pandemic, while some developed countries are also facing difficult times.
“Developed countries need responsible economic policies, controlling spillover effects of policies to avoid affecting developing countries,” he said, adding that China will continue to remain open and is committed to economic and market reforms. .
He also called for global regulations on the digital economy and greater information sharing around the world.
Addressing the summit via video conferencing, he said, “The world is passing through major changes, unseen in a century and how to beat the pandemic and build a post-COVID world, it is a matter of people all over the world. is a common concern.”
The deadly virus, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, has seen over 320 million confirmed cases globally with over 5.5 million deaths so far.
Jinping said that the international community has fought an uphill battle against COVID-19 and the concerted efforts of the international community mean that great progress has been made in the global fight against the pandemic.
Emphasizing the importance of vaccines, he called for ensuring their equitable distribution, accelerating vaccination and closing the global vaccination gap.
The World Health Organization has also been critical of the unequal distribution of vaccines and has been asking manufacturers and other countries to contribute to COVAX, a United Nations-backed program to supply vaccines to poor countries. So far it has delivered 1 billion doses.
According to the WHO, 36 of its 194 member states have vaccinated less than 10 percent of the population and 88 have vaccinated less than 40 percent of the population.
Despite challenges including a resurgence of the pandemic and a complex external environment, China’s economy grew 8.1 percent in 2021, exceeding its own target of 6 percent, according to the latest Chinese government data.
The Chinese economy, which was first hit by the coronavirus and recovered quickly from the pandemic, grew by 2.3 percent in 2020, the lowest annual growth rate in 45 years.
In his address at the WEF event, Jinping said that China will provide one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to African countries and 150 million doses to ASEAN countries.
He said China would celebrate the arrival of spring in the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Tiger, in two weeks’ time.
“In Chinese culture, the tiger is a symbol of bravery and strength, as Chinese people often refer to the spirited dragon and the moving tiger, or the flying dragon and the leaping tiger. To meet the grave challenges facing humanity, we must The tiger must attach its wings and act with it. The tiger has the courage and strength to overcome all the obstacles that come our way.”
He said that facts have once again shown that amidst the raging currents of the global crisis, countries are not riding separately in 190 small boats, but all in one giant ship on which rests our shared destiny.
“Small boats cannot survive a storm, but a giant ship is strong enough to withstand a storm. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the international community, great progress has been made in the global fight against the pandemic.
“That said, the pandemic is proving to be a protracted one, resurgent with more forms and spreading faster than ever before. It poses a serious threat to people’s safety and health, and has a profound impact on the global economy. puts,” he said.
He said the act of single-minded building “special yards with high walls” or “parallel systems”, enthusiastically specialized small circles or blocks that polarize the world, severely undermine global efforts to tackle common challenges. Will give
He also cautioned against attempts to raise the concept of national security and promote ideological opposition, and to politicize or weaponize economic, scientific and technological issues to stifle the economic and technological progress of other countries.
“We must stand up for dialogue on confrontation, inclusiveness on exclusion, and against all forms of unilateralism, protectionism, hegemony or power politics,” he said.
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