President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept 22. Photo by Ju Peng, Xinhua News Agency

Beijing, Sept. 22 (Xinhua)

Address to the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

(22 September 2020, Beijing)

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

Mr. Chairperson.

Colleagues:

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the victory in the world war against fascism and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Yesterday, the United Nations solemnly held a commemorative summit to remember the historical experience and lessons of the world anti-fascist war and to reaffirm its strong commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, which is of great significance.

Mr. President!

Humanity is battling a new pneumonia epidemic. The virus has ravaged the world and the outbreak is recurring. We have witnessed the efforts of governments, the dedication of medical personnel, the exploration of scientists and the perseverance of ordinary people. We have seen the courage, determination and care of all people in the face of major disasters, shining a light on the darkest of times. The epidemic will eventually be overcome by mankind, and victory will surely belong to the people of the world!

—— In the face of the epidemic, we must put into practice the concept of people first and life first. We must mobilise all resources, carry out scientific prevention and control, and implement precise measures, so as not to miss a single infected person or abandon a single patient, and resolutely contain the spread of the epidemic.

——In the face of the epidemic, we must strengthen our unity and work together. We must uphold the spirit of science, give full play to the key leadership role of the World Health Organization, promote joint international prevention and control, resolutely win the global epidemic interdiction battle, and oppose politicisation and stigmatisation.

——In the face of the epidemic, we need to develop comprehensive and standing preventive and control measures. We need to promote the orderly resumption of business and work and schooling, create jobs, boost the economy and restore economic and social order and vitality. Major economies should strengthen macro policy coordination, not only to restart their own economies, but also to contribute to the recovery of the world economy.

——In the face of the epidemic, we must care for and look after developing countries, especially those in Africa. The international community should take timely and strong initiatives in debt relief and assistance to ensure the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and help them overcome their difficulties.

Seventy-five years ago, China made a historic contribution to the victory in the world war against fascism and supported the establishment of the United Nations. Today, in the same spirit of commitment, China is actively participating in international cooperation to combat the epidemic and contributing its efforts to maintain global public health security. We will continue to share our experience and treatment technologies with other countries, provide support and assistance to countries in need, ensure the stability of the global supply chain of anti-epidemic materials, and actively participate in global scientific research on virus traceability and transmission routes. China has a number of vaccines in Phase III clinical trials, and when they are developed and put into use, they will be provided to developing countries as a global public product on a priority basis. China will implement its commitment to provide US$2 billion in international aid over two years, deepen international cooperation in agriculture, poverty reduction, education, women and children, and climate change, and help countries recover their economic and social development.

Mr. President!

The history of human social development is a history of constantly overcoming various challenges and difficulties. The global pandemic of the Newcastle pneumonia epidemic and the world's unprecedented changes in the past century are interacting with each other, but the theme of the times of peace and development remains unchanged, and the expectations of people from all countries for peaceful development and win-win cooperation have become even stronger. The Newcastle pneumonia epidemic will not be the last crisis facing humanity, and we must be prepared to work together to meet more global challenges.

Firstly, the epidemic has taught us that we live in a global village of interconnectedness and solidarity. All countries are closely interconnected and the destiny of humanity is shared. No country can benefit from another country's difficulties or reap stability from another country's turmoil. If we treat our neighbours as beggars and watch the fire from across the river, sooner or later the threats of other countries will become our own challenges. We need to build a sense of community of destiny in which you have me and I have you, break away from small circles and zero-sum game thinking, establish the concept of a large family and win-win cooperation, abandon ideological arguments, cross the trap of clash of civilizations, and mutually respect the development paths and models independently chosen by each country, so that the diversity of the world becomes an inexhaustible driving force for the progress of human society and a natural form of human civilization in all its diversity.

Secondly, this epidemic has taught us that economic globalisation is an objective reality and a historical trend. In the face of economic globalisation, it is against the laws of history to bury one's head in the sand like an ostrich and pretend to ignore it, or to resist it by waving a spear like Don Quixote. The world cannot go back to being closed and isolated from each other, let alone being artificially fragmented. We cannot avoid the challenges posed by economic globalisation, and must face up to major issues such as the gap between the rich and the poor and the development divide. We must deal with the relationship between government and market, equity and efficiency, growth and distribution, technology and employment, so that development is both balanced and adequate, and the fruits of development benefit different classes and groups of people in different countries in a fair manner. We must uphold the concept of openness and inclusiveness, unswervingly build an open world economy, safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization as its cornerstone, flagrantly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and maintain the stability and smooth flow of the global industrial chain supply chain.

Thirdly, the epidemic has revealed to us that mankind needs a self-revolution to speed up the formation of a green way of development and lifestyle, and to build an ecological civilization and a beautiful planet. Humankind can no longer ignore nature's warnings time and again and follow the old path of taking without input, development without protection, and use without restoration. The Paris Agreement to address climate change represents the general direction of the global green and low-carbon transition, the minimum action needed to protect our home planet, and countries must take decisive steps. China will increase its autonomous national contribution, adopt stronger policies and measures, and strive to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and work towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. All countries should establish a new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, seize the historic opportunity of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change, promote a "green recovery" of the world economy after the epidemic, and gather a strong synergy for sustainable development.

Fourth, the epidemic has revealed to us that the global governance system needs urgent reform and improvement. The epidemic is not only a major test of the governing capacity of countries, but also a test of the global governance system. We must adhere to the path of multilateralism and maintain the international system with the United Nations at its core. Global governance should uphold the principle of common consent, common construction and sharing, promote equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules for all countries, so that the global governance system is in line with the changing world political economy, meets the real needs of addressing global challenges and responds to the historical trend of peaceful development and win-win cooperation. It is normal for countries to have differences, which should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultation. There can be competition between countries, but it must be positive and benign, and the moral bottom line and international norms should be kept. Big countries should be more like big countries, providing more global public goods, assuming the responsibilities of big countries and demonstrating the role of big countries.

Mr. President!

So far this year, 1.4 billion Chinese people have been working together to overcome the impact of the epidemic and speed up the restoration of production and living conditions, despite the difficulties. We are confident that we will be able to build a moderately prosperous society on schedule, that we will be able to lift all rural poor people out of poverty under the current standards on schedule, and that we will achieve the poverty reduction targets of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

As the world's largest developing country, China is pursuing the path of peaceful development, open development, cooperative development and common development. We will never claim hegemony, we will not expand, we will not seek spheres of influence, we have no intention of fighting cold and hot wars with any country, and we insist on bridging differences through dialogue and resolving disputes through negotiation. We will not seek to be a one-man show, nor will we engage in a lose-lose, win-win situation, nor will we operate behind closed doors. We will gradually form a new development pattern in which the domestic cycle is the mainstay and the domestic and international cycles promote each other, opening up space for China's economic development and adding momentum to the recovery and growth of the world economy.

China will continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order. In support of the United Nations playing a central role in international affairs, I declare that

——China to provide a further US$50 million in support to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan for the New Coronary Pneumonia Outbreak;

——China to establish US$50 million third phase of China-FAO Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation;

——The China-UN Peace and Development Fund will be extended for five years after its expiry in 2025;

——China will establish the United Nations Global Centre for Geo-Information Knowledge and Innovation and the International Research Centre on Big Data for Sustainable Development to provide a new boost to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Mr President and colleagues!

The baton of history has been passed to our generation, and we must make choices that are worthy of our people and of history. Let us unite to uphold the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, promote the building of a new type of international relations and a community of human destiny, and together create a better future for the world!