Our Correspondent
Moscow
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday unveiled a five-point plan to beat the global coronavirus epidemic and mitigate its social, political and economic fallouts during a summit meeting of the group of five major emerging countries.
Speaking during an online summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Xi called for uphold multilateralism, and safeguard peace and stability, warning that unilateralism and bullying, and withdrawing from international agreements ran counter to the will of the people.
The President said, “the international landscape keeps evolving in profound ways. At such a critical moment, we are meeting to discuss our joint response to Covid-19 and draw a blueprint for the future of BRICS.”
He said, human society is going through the most serious pandemic in the past century. International trade and investment have shrunk considerably. The flow of goods and personnel has been impeded. Factors for uncertainty and instability are numerous. The world economy is witnessing the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s.”
“Unilateralism, protectionism and acts of bullying are becoming rampant, and the deficit in governance, trust, development and peace is widening instead of narrowing.
Xi Jinping said that we must keep people’s welfare close to heart and pursue the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind. Through concrete actions, we will contribute our share to making the world a better place for everyone.
“First, we need to uphold multilateralism, and safeguard peace and stability in our world. History teaches us that multilateralism, equity and justice can keep war and conflict at bay, while unilateralism and power politics will inflate dispute and confrontation.
Flouting rules and laws, treading the path of unilateralism and bullying, and withdrawing from international organizations and agreements run counter to the will of the general public and trample on the legitimate rights and dignity of all nations,” he said.
“We must endeavor to safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. It is important that countries rise above ideology and respect each other’s choices of social system, economic model and development path consistent with their national conditions. We need to champion the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security,” he said.
“Second,” the President said, “We need to enhance solidarity and coordination, and come together to meet the Covid-19 challenge. The coronavirus is still causing havoc in many places and waves of infection are resurging. Securing a worldwide victory against the pandemic remains an uphill journey. What is important is that we put people’s life and health first, mobilize all resources and do everything we can to protect people’s safety and well-being.”
He said, Chinese companies are working with their Russian and Brazilian partners on phase-III clinical trials of vaccines, and we are prepared to have cooperation with South Africa and India as well. China has joined the COVAX facility, a platform on which we will share vaccines with other countries, developing countries in particular.
“To support the development of the BRICS Vaccine R&D Center, China has designated its own national center. We will work with other BRICS countries both online and offline to advance collective vaccine research and trials, set up plants, authorize production and recognize each other’s standards. I propose that we convene a BRICS symposium on traditional medicine to explore its role in coronavirus prevention and treatment. This may well boost the global arsenal against Covid-19.”
Third, to stabilize the economy while controlling the pandemic is the pressing task facing all countries. Under the precondition that safety is ensured, we must actively pursue economic recovery and seek to carry out economic and social activities in an orderly way as we fight the virus on an ongoing basis.
The practice of using the pandemic to pursue “de-globalization” or clamor for “economic decoupling” and “parallel systems” will end up hurting one’s own interests and the common interests of all. Under the current situation, we need to stand firm for building an open world economy. We need to uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and reject abuse of the “national security” concept for protectionist purposes.
China will work with other parties to flesh out the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution at a faster pace. We will open in Xiamen, Fujian Province a BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center to advance cooperation on policy coordination, personnel training and project development, and we welcome the active participation of fellow BRICS countries.
Fourth, we need to prioritize people’s livelihood, and promote sustainable global development. Development holds the master key to all problems.
All our efforts, from clearing the impact of Covid-19 and getting back to a normal life, to ending conflicts and humanitarian crises, ultimately depend on people-centered development.
