BEIJING: As the world heads into the second month of 2021, it is still struggling to handle a ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, a deep economic recession, as well as a turbulent and shifting global order.
Against the backdrop of growing risks and uncertainties, Chinese President Xi Jinping has, on an array of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic occasions, offered China’s solutions to those daunting challenges.
His pledges and proposals, ranging from promoting global vaccine cooperation and jointly building the Belt and Road, to practicing multilateralism, have charted the course for a world that has arrived at a historic crossroads.
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 100 million on Jan. 26, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Amid surging infections, a fair distribution of effective vaccines is believed to be the best way to guide the world out of the tunnel.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi has been engaged in intensive “cloud diplomacy,” including attending or chairing virtual meetings and having phone calls with foreign leaders and heads of international organizations, during which he repeatedly called for solidarity against the pandemic, as well as global cooperation on the research, development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
During his phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in November 2020, Xi said China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Germany on COVID-19 vaccines and push for the vaccines to be fairly distributed as a global public good, especially for the benefit of developing countries.
In a telephone conversation on Jan. 21 with Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Xi said China will continue to support Laos’ efforts to fight the pandemic, and stands ready to actively consider aiding Laos with a batch of COVID-19 vaccines. –Agencies
