Xi's remarks on economic globalization, joint efforts to tackle common challenges

BEIJING -- At the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday championed economic globalization and called for global cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a historic juncture where countries are struggling with unprecedented challenges, Xi has, in his past addresses at the WEF, expounded on China's stance over upholding economic globalization and multilateralism. The following are some highlights of his remarks.

Jan 17, 2022

As COVID-19 is resurging with more variants and spreading faster than before, Xi again urged the world to "embrace cooperation and jointly defeat the pandemic" in his special address on Monday.

"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges," Xi said figuratively. "Small boats may not survive a storm, but a giant ship is strong enough to brave a storm."

Holding each other back or shifting blame would only cause needless delay in response and distract the world from the overall objective, Xi said, urging the world to strengthen international cooperation against COVID-19, carry out active cooperation on research and development of medicines, jointly build multiple lines of defense against the coronavirus, and speed up efforts to build a global community of health for all.

On economic globalization, the Chinese president called it "the trend of the times." Despite the countercurrents and dangerous shoals along the way, he said, economic globalization has never and will not veer off course.

"Countries around the world should uphold true multilateralism. We should remove barriers, not erect walls. We should open up, not close off. We should seek integration, not decoupling. This is the way to build an open world economy," Xi said.

In his address, Xi also urged the world to discard Cold War mentality and seek peaceful coexistence and win-win outcomes.

"Acts of single-mindedly building 'exclusive yards with high walls' or 'parallel systems,' of enthusiastically putting together exclusive small circles or blocs that polarize the world, of overstretching the concept of national security to hold back economic and technological advances of other countries, and of fanning ideological antagonism and politicizing or weaponizing economic, scientific and technological issues, will gravely undercut international efforts to tackle common challenges," Xi said.

Jan 25, 2021

Noting that the problems facing the world are intricate and complex, Xi said in his special address at the WEF Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda that the way out of them is "through upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind."

"Multilateralism is about having international affairs addressed through consultation and the future of the world decided by everyone working together," Xi said.

"Decision should not be made by simply showing off strong muscles or waving a big fist," he said, adding that "selective multilateralism should not be our option."

Xi urged abandoning arrogance and isolation mindsets, saying that "we have been shown time and again that to beggar thy neighbor, to go it alone, and to slip into arrogant isolation will always fail."

In his speech, Xi also noted that multilateral institutions provide the platforms for putting multilateralism into action and are the basic architecture underpinning multilateralism, saying that their authority and effectiveness should be safeguarded.

He urged the international community to give full play to the role of the World Health Organization in building a global community of health for all, and to advance reform of the World Trade Organization and the international financial and monetary system in a way that boosts global economic growth and protects the development rights, interests and opportunities of developing countries.

Jan 17, 2017

Though economic globalization has created new problems, this is no justification to write economic globalization off completely, said Xi at the 2017 WEF at Davos, Switzerland.

"Rather, we should adapt to and guide economic globalization, cushion its negative impact, and deliver its benefits to all countries and all nations," Xi said.

Stressing that "no one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," Xi said that any attempt to cut off the flow of capital, technologies, products, industries and people between economies, and channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible.

The president called on the international community to face up to the problems caused by globalization instead of dodging them.

"In the face of both opportunities and challenges of economic globalization, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization," he said.