UNITED NATIONS, April 11 (Xinhua) — A Chinese envoy on Monday called for the practice of true multilateralism in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and in post-pandemic recovery.
During the pandemic in the past two years, over 6 million people have lost their lives. The lesson is profound and deserves serious reflection, said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
“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 a Security Council meeting on COVID-19 and vaccines.
“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, weaponizing 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.
The need for true multilateralism is even greater in today’s world. In the post-pandemic period, all countries should strengthen their solidarity under the banner of the United Nations, respect one another, trust others and be trustworthy, show goodwill, cooperate for mutual benefit, and work together for a better future, he said.
