China calls for true multilateralism in fight against COVID-19

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China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Monday called for the practice of true multilateralism in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and in post-pandemic recovery.

In remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, the envoy said that during the pandemic in the past two years, over 6 million people have lost their lives, noting that the lesson is profound and deserves serious reflection.

“Nothing is more valuable in this world than human lives. A people-centered approach is the most important tenet that guides all our decisions,” he told the Security Council.

“At the global level, cooperation in solidarity is the most powerful weapon to defeat the pandemic, and is as effective in tackling other global challenges. Under these unprecedented circumstances, we must work together to build back better with a conviction stronger than ever that we are in a global community with a shared future,” he said.

“The world is still confronted with multiple challenges. A scant few countries are still holding on to their Cold War mentality, drawing lines of distinction based on ideology, provoking renewed bloc confrontation, imposing unilateral sanctions without scruple, weaponising economic interdependence, and forcing countries to choose sides,” he noted.

“This is plunging the international community into division and pushing the world into the quicksand of grave risks and uncertainties. These irresponsible actions are harmful to others as they are to those countries themselves, and must be categorically rejected,” Zhang said.

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