President stresses common destiny

President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for the building of a high-quality Belt and Road, saying the right approach to tackling global crises and realizing long-term development is through greater connectivity, openness and inclusiveness.

Xi made the remark in a written message delivered to the High-Level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation attended by foreign ministers or officials at ministerial level from 25 countries.

Xi said the meeting is highly important as it gives Belt and Road partners an opportunity to discuss a collective response to COVID-19, advance cooperation and strengthen international solidarity.

The sudden attack of COVID-19 has posed a grave threat to the lives and health of people across the globe, he said, and it has dealt a heavy blow to the world economy and caused tough economic and social challenges for some countries, and in particular developing countries.

To contain the virus, Xi said, countries have taken robust and effective measures specific to their national conditions and are striving to resume economic and social development.

China will do what it can and contribute to an early global victory against COVID-19 and to the recovery of the global economy, he said.

Xi said that the pandemic has demonstrated again that all nations' destinies are closely connected and humanity is a community with a shared future. "In taming the virus or in achieving economic recovery, we cannot succeed without solidarity, cooperation and multilateralism," he added.

Saying China is committed to peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation, Xi stated that the country will work with its partners to develop the Belt and Road into a model of cooperation for meeting challenges through unity, a model of health for protecting people's safety and well-being, a model of recovery for restoring economic and social activity and a model of growth for unlocking development potential.

"Through high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, we will contribute to a community with a shared future for mankind," he added.