(November 17, 2020, Beijing)
Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China
Dear President Putin,
Dear Prime Minister Modi,
Dear President Ramaphosa,
Dear President Bolsonaro:
First of all, I would like to thank President Putin and the Russian government for their meticulous arrangements for this BRICS summit. At present, the pandemic of the century is intertwined with the changes in the past century, and the international pattern is profoundly evolving. At such an important moment, it is of special significance that we hold this meeting to discuss the anti-pandemic cooperation plan and draw a blueprint for the development of the BRICS.
Looking around the world, the pandemic has greatly threatened the lives and health of people in all countries, the global public health system is facing severe tests, and human society is experiencing the worst pandemic of infectious diseases in a century. International trade and investment have shrunk sharply, the movement of people and goods has been severely blocked, and unstable and uncertain factors have emerged one after another. The world economy is experiencing its worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying have intensified, and governance deficits, trust deficits, development deficits, and peace deficits are increasing.
At the same time, we firmly believe that the theme of the times of peace and development remains unchanged, and the trend of the times of world multi-polarization and economic globalization cannot be reversed. We must consider the welfare of the people, uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and make due contributions to building a better world with practical actions.
-We must uphold multilateralism and maintain world peace and stability. History has shown us that we must abide by multilateralism and pursue fairness and justice. Wars and conflicts can be avoided; unilateralism and power politics will intensify disputes and confrontations. If we ignore the rules and the rule of law and continue to engage in unilateral bullying and “withdraw from the group and break contracts”, it will not only go against the universal aspirations of the people of the world, but will also trample on the legitimate rights and dignity of all countries.
In the face of multilateral and unilateral, fair and hegemonic disputes, the BRICS countries must firmly uphold international fairness and justice, hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold the international system with the UN at its core, and uphold international law as the foundation. International order. Countries should transcend ideology and respect each other’s social systems, economic models, and development paths that they choose according to their own national conditions. We must advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept, resolve differences through consultation and negotiation, oppose interference in internal affairs, oppose unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction”, and jointly create a peaceful and stable development environment.
We must persist in unity and cooperation and work together to overcome the challenges of the pandemic. At present, the virus is still raging around the world, and the pandemic continues to repeat. It still requires hard work to win the global fight against the pandemic. After nearly a year of fighting the pandemic, many countries have accumulated valuable experience in pandemic prevention and control, and have made significant progress in drug and vaccine research and development. The anti-pandemic practice in the past year has proved that as long as we are united and scientifically controlled, the spread of the virus can be controlled and the impact of the pandemic can be overcome.
We must uphold the people’s supremacy and life first, mobilize all resources, and make every effort to protect people’s lives and health. It is necessary to strengthen international joint prevention and control, share pandemic information, exchange anti-pandemic experience, and curb the spread of the virus. Support the World Health Organization to play a key leadership role. Chinese companies are cooperating with partners in Russia and Brazil to carry out Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine, and we are also willing to cooperate with South Africa and India. China has joined the “Coronavirus Vaccine Implementation Plan” and will share vaccines with countries, especially other developing countries, on this platform. We are willing to actively consider providing vaccines to the BRICS countries in need. In order to promote the construction of the BRICS vaccine research and development center, China has established a vaccine research and development center in China, and is willing to promote the joint research and development and testing of vaccines in the five countries, cooperative construction of factories, authorized production, and mutual recognition of standards through a combination of online and offline methods. I propose that the five countries hold seminars on traditional medicine to explore the role of traditional medicine in the prevention and control of Coronavirus, and to add a powerful weapon to the global pandemic prevention and control.
Facts have proved that politicizing and stigmatizing the pandemic, engaging in “sweeping the pot” and pushing blame, interferes with the overall situation of global cooperation in fighting the pandemic. We must promote unity to replace differences, rationally eliminate prejudice, wipe out the “political virus”, and gather the greatest synergy of all countries to fight the pandemic.
We must persist in openness and innovation to promote the recovery of the world economy. According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund, the world economy will shrink by 4.4% this year, and emerging market countries and developing countries will experience negative growth for the first time in 60 years. Preventing the pandemic with one hand and stabilizing the economy with the other is an urgent task for all countries. We must actively promote economic recovery under the premise of ensuring safety, and realize the orderly development of economic and social activities in the normalization of pandemic prevention and control. It is necessary to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, promote the implementation of the “Cross-border Flow of People and Goods Facilitation Initiative”, ensure the safety and smooth flow of the industrial chain and supply chain, and help countries resume work and production and restore the economy.
Using the pandemic to “de-globalize” and advocate the so-called “economic decoupling” and “parallel systems” will ultimately only harm the common interests of the country and other countries. Under the current circumstances, we must unswervingly build an open world economy, maintain the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and oppose the abuse of protectionism in the name of national security. We must make good use of the new business models and models spawned by the pandemic, strengthen cooperation in technological innovation, create an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment, and jointly achieve higher-quality and more resilient development.
China is willing to work with all parties to speed up the building of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution partnership. We will establish the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership Innovation Base in Xiamen City, Fujian Province, and carry out cooperation in such areas as policy coordination, talent training, and project development. We welcome the active participation of BRICS countries. Recently, China launched the “Global Data Security Initiative” to promote the building of a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative, and orderly cyberspace, and promote the healthy development of the digital economy. It hopes to get support from the BRICS.
We must prioritize people’s livelihood and promote sustainable global development. Development is the master key to solving all problems. Whether it is to eliminate the impact of the pandemic, return to the right track of life, quell conflicts and turmoil, and resolve humanitarian crises, fundamentally, people-centered development is required. The World Bank predicts that global per capita income will fall by 3.6% in 2020, and 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty due to the pandemic.
We must face up to the challenge of the pandemic, promote the international community to place the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the core of international development cooperation, to eradicate poverty as the primary goal, and to allocate more resources to poverty reduction, education, health, infrastructure construction, etc. The field is tilted. It is necessary to support the United Nations to play a coordinating and coordinating role to promote the construction of a more equal and balanced global development partnership, so that development results can benefit developing countries more and better meet the needs of disadvantaged groups.
We must adhere to green and low-carbon, and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Global warming will not stop due to the pandemic, and we must not relax for a moment in dealing with climate change. We must implement the Paris Agreement to address climate change, abide by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and provide more assistance to developing countries, especially small island countries. China is willing to assume international responsibilities commensurate with its own level of development and continue to make hard efforts to tackle climate change. I announced at the United Nations not long ago that China will increase its nationally determined contributions, adopt more powerful policies and measures, strive to reach its peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. We will do what we say!
Dear colleagues!
Not long ago, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China deliberated and approved the proposal on formulating the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan, proposing that the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be achieved as scheduled. We will scientifically grasp the new development stage, firmly implement the new development concept, and actively build a new development pattern with domestic and international cycles as the main body and mutual promotion of domestic and international cycles. We will make great efforts to expand domestic demand, deepen reforms in an all-round way, promote technological innovation, and add impetus to domestic economic development. China’s door to opening up will not be closed, it will only open wider and wider. We will more actively integrate into the global market, deepen foreign cooperation more actively, and create more opportunities and space for the recovery and development of the world economy.
We are all on the same boat. When the wind is high and the waves are rushing, we must keep the right direction, master the rhythm, unite and cooperate, ride the wind and waves, travel steadily and far, and sail for a better tomorrow.
