Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday delivered a speech via video at the third Paris Peace Forum, calling for joint efforts to fight COVID-19, promote recovery and safeguard peace.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech via video at the third Paris Peace Forum on Nov. 12, 2020, calling for joint efforts to fight COVID-19, promote recovery and safeguard peace. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi said the global landscape is fast evolving right now, noting that traditional and non-traditional security threats keep emerging, and instability and uncertainties are growing in the international situation.

"Global threats and challenges require global responses," Xi said, raising three proposals for the global response.

Firstly, Xi called for solidarity and helping each other to jointly fight COVID-19 as the coronavirus is still wreaking havoc around the world.

"We need to put people and life first," Xi said, stressing the need to give full play to the crucial leadership role of the World Health Organization in facilitating the joint global response against COVID-19.

Xi promised China will continue to share with others experience in containing the virus and expertise in diagnostics and therapeutics, provide assistance in essential medical supplies, and honor its commitment to making Chinese vaccines a global public good.

China will help the global community, developing countries in particular, enhance preparedness for public health emergencies, he said, calling for building a global community of health for all.

Secondly, Xi stressed openness and cooperation to jointly promote recovery.

China will follow the new development philosophy, foster a new development paradigm, and pursue high-quality development by staying committed to deepening reform and opening wider to the world, Xi said.

He stressed that China will also work with the rest of the international community to keep the global industrial and supply chains stable and foster an open world economy.

He said China will earnestly act on the G20 debt service suspension initiative for the poorest countries and take an active part in international development cooperation.

Xi said China will make implementation plans for the country's initiative he had announced earlier to scale up the nationally determined contributions to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Next year, China, Europe and France will each host an international conference on biodiversity, on climate change and on nature conservation, Xi said, noting that China is willing to take such opportunities to deepen cooperation in these fields.

Thirdly, Xi called for upholding justice to jointly safeguard world peace.

Xi stressed the need to adhere to peaceful coexistence, as well as the need to respect other countries' right to development and their independent choice of development paths and models.

"We need to uphold multilateralism, oppose unilateralism, hegemony and power politics, and reject all forms of terrorism and acts of extreme violence," Xi said, stressing joint efforts to safeguard equity, justice, peace and security in the world.

Noting that China follows an independent foreign policy of peace, Xi said it is committed to the path of peaceful development.

Xi called on all countries to uphold international law and the basic norms governing international relations, determine their position on the merits of each matter, and rise above ideological bias and confrontation.

China is willing to step up communication and coordination with France and other countries and play a positive part for the political settlement of international and regional issues and for upholding world peace and stability.

Peace and development are the theme of the times, as well as the unstoppable trend of history, Xi stressed.

"Given the challenges facing humankind, countries need to strengthen solidarity, not create estrangement; they need to advance cooperation, not provoke conflicts," he said.

Xi called for joint efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind and bring greater benefit to people across the world.