On May 18, Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and the EU-China Business Association (EUCBA) participated in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, with which we all worked together for many years. The event took place online. During this important celebration, President Xi Jinping delivered a major speech and mentioned the following four points:
1. We need to pull together to defeat Covid-19. The pandemic has been going on unabated. Resurging with ever faster transmission, it is posing a serious threat to the life and health of the people, and taking a heavy toll on the world economy. We must put people and their lives first, actively engage in international cooperation on vaccine R&D, production and distribution, bolster global public health governance, jointly build multiple lines of defense against the virus, and work for a global community of health for all.
2. We need to reinvigorate trade and investment. We need to balance pandemic response and economic development, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination across countries, and get the global economy out of the woods at an early date. China has put forward a Global Development Initiative, which calls for concerted efforts to advance the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in all respects.
3. We need to unleash the power of innovation in driving development. We should tap into the potential of innovation in spurring growth, jointly step up intellectual property protection, make rules on the basis of extensive participation and consensus building, and foster an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for scientific and technological development.
4. We need to improve on global governance. In today’s world, the future of all countries is closely linked. Seeking exclusive blocs will only lead the world to division and confrontation. We should uphold true multilateralism, embrace a global governance vision featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and mobilize resources from across the world to meet global challenges and advance global development.
