Xi talks up global coronavirus coordination

President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that China is ready to work with all other parties to step up coordination against COVID-19 and shore up confidence in the international community.

Xi made the remarks during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the G20 leaders’ extraordinary summit on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. He will attend the virtual summit in Beijing on Thursday.

The summit will be hosted via video by Saudi Arabia, which holds the presidency of the Group of 20 this year.

“This will be the first summit via video in the history of G20 and also the first major multilateral event attended by President Xi since the COVID-19 outbreak,” Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told a briefing on Wednesday.

“The extraordinary summit on COVID-19 at this critical juncture will be of great significance for communication and coordination on tackling the spread of the epidemic and stabilizing the global economy,” he stated.

Xi’s summit attendance shows China’s firm determination and sense of responsibility as a major country in enhancing the global fight against the COVID-19, as well as its attitude for supporting the G20 to strengthen coordination and cooperation and stabilize the global economy, said Ma.

The outbreak has caused serious political, economic and social impact worldwide. The international community urgently needs to join hands to fight the virus.

The G20 is an important platform for global crisis response and economic governance, bringing together major developed economies and emerging market economies. It played an important role in responding to the 2008 international financial crisis, Ma noted.

“China is willing to work with other members of the G20 to facilitate positive results of this extraordinary summit.”

“The virus knows no borders, and no country is immune from it,” Ma said, adding that China expects further solidarity within the international community to send a powerful message of collaboration.

“Only by working together can the world secure a victory in the fight against the pandemic, stabilize the economy and restore order.”

Stressing the significance of international cooperation, Ma said that China, while consolidating the COVID-19 prevention and control at home, would provide timely help to countries in need by sharing experiences and providing urgently needed medical supplies. “We hope that the G20 members will help each other and cooperate closely to jointly safeguard international public health.”

As the pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy, resumption of production in China is stabilizing global industrial and supply chains, Ma suggested.

China hopes all parties will enhance macro-economic policy coordination, adopt necessary fiscal, monetary and structural policies, promote market opening-up, and ensure an open, stable, secure and smooth global supply chain, he added.

The leaders of G20 members will be joined by their counterparts from some invited countries, including Spain, Jordan, Singapore and Switzerland, as well as the United Nations, the World Bank and other international organizations.