Chinese president vows to boost cooperation in global governance

President Xi Jinping spoke at the closing ceremony of the Global Governance Forum in Paris on Tuesday, putting forward several proposals for improving global governance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L), French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd R), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (1st R) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attend the closing ceremony of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris, France, March 26, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Ju Peng]

The closing ceremony was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Earlier, the four leaders reached a consensus on strengthening multilateralism, as well as deepening the strategic relationship between China and Europe.

During his speech, President Xi said that the world faces an unprecedented situation. "Our destiny is in our own hands," he said, as he called on all nations to work together to tackle shared challenges. Speaking about the rise in isolationist and protectionist sentiment in some parts of the world, President Xi said that more dialogue was needed among nations to build mutual trust and decrease mutual suspicion.

President Xi said that China will help to promote democracy and multilateralism in global governance and to build global and regional multilateral mechanisms. He pointed to the Belt and Road Initiative as an example of one such mechanism, and invited all nations to take part in it.

Speaking about global security, President Xi stressed that all countries should uphold the principle of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, abandon Cold War and zero-sum thinking, and resolve disputes through peaceful means.

On the economy, President Xi said that economic globalization can inject a new impetus into global growth and that all countries should remain committed to innovation-driven, interconnected, fair, and inclusive development that allows people from all over the world to share the fruits of economic globalization.