Xi Jinping's speech at the Global Health Summit (full text)

Join hands to build a human health community

Speech at the Global Health Summit

(21 May 2021, Beijing)

the People's Republic of China President Xi Jinping

Honorable Prime Minister Draghi,Honorable President Von der Leyen,Dear colleagues:

It is a great pleasure to attend the Global Health Summit. Last year, the G-20 successfully held a special summit on the new coronary pneumonia and a summit in Riyadh, and reached many important consensuses on promoting global solidarity against the epidemic and helping the world economy recover.

For more than a year, the epidemic has fluctuated repeatedly, the virus mutates frequently, and the most serious infectious disease pandemic in a century is still raging. Overcoming the epidemic and restoring economic growth at an early date is the top priority of the international community. G20 members should shoulder their responsibilities in global anti-epidemic cooperation, and at the same time, they should sum up both positive and negative experiences, pay close attention to filling shortcomings, plugging loopholes, strengths and weaknesses, and strive to improve their ability and level of responding to major public health emergencies. Next, I would like to make five comments.

First, adhere to the people first, life first. The fight against the epidemic is for the people and must rely on the people. Practice has proved that in order to completely overcome the epidemic, the safety of people's lives and physical health must be given a prominent position, with great political responsibility and courage, with extraordinary actions to deal with extraordinary things, and do our best not to miss an infected person. Do not give up a sick patient, and earnestly respect the value and dignity of everyone's life. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that people's lives are less affected and that social order is generally normal.
 

Second, adhere to the scientific policy, overall system response. In the face of this new infectious disease, we must adhere to the spirit of science, uphold a scientific attitude, and follow scientific laws. The fight against the epidemic is an overall war, and it is necessary to respond systematically, to coordinate drug and non-drug interventions, to coordinate the normalization of precise prevention and control and emergency response, and to coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. G20 members should adopt responsible macroeconomic policies, strengthen mutual coordination, and maintain the safe and smooth operation of the global industrial chain and supply chain. We should continue to support developing countries, especially vulnerable countries with great difficulties, through debt relief and development assistance.

Third, insist on helping each other in the same boat and advocate unity and cooperation. This epidemic has once again shown us that humanity is a shared destiny. In the face of a pandemic of infectious diseases, we must uphold the concept of a human health community, unite and cooperate to overcome difficulties, and resolutely oppose all attempts to politicize, label, and stigmatize. Political manipulation will not help the country to fight the epidemic in any way, but will only disrupt international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic and bring greater harm to the people of all countries in the world.
 

Fourth, adhere to fairness and rationality and bridge the "immunization gap". I proposed a year ago that vaccines should be a global public good. At present, the imbalance of vaccination is more prominent. We should abandon "vaccine nationalism", solve the problem of vaccine production capacity and distribution, and enhance the accessibility and affordability of developing countries. Vaccine research and development and production countries should take responsibility, provide more vaccines to developing countries in urgent need, and support their own enterprises to carry out joint research and authorized production with countries with the ability. Multilateral financial institutions should provide inclusive financing for vaccine procurement in developing countries. The World Health Organization to accelerate the "new crown pneumonia vaccine implementation plan".

Fifth, adhere to both the symptoms and the root causes, improve the governance system. The outbreak is a central test of the global health governance system. We should strengthen and give full play to the role of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, improve the global disease prevention and control system, and better prevent and respond to future epidemics. We must adhere to extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, fully listen to the opinions of developing countries, and better reflect the reasonable demands of developing countries. It is necessary to improve the ability to monitor, early warning and emergency response, the ability to treat major epidemics, the ability to reserve and guarantee emergency supplies, the ability to combat false information, and the ability to provide support to developing countries.

Colleagues!

In this unprecedented fight against the epidemic, China has received support and assistance from many countries, and China has also carried out large-scale global humanitarian operations. In May last year, at the 73rd World Health Assembly, I announced that China's five initiatives to support global anti-epidemic cooperation are being implemented. With limited production capacity and huge demand, China has fulfilled its commitment to provide vaccine assistance to more than 80 developing countries in urgent need and export vaccines to 43 countries. China has provided US $2 billion million in assistance to developing countries affected by the epidemic to fight the epidemic and restore economic and social development, provided anti-epidemic material assistance to more than 150 countries and 13 international organizations, and supplied more than 280 billion masks, more than 3.4 billion protective clothing and more than 4 billion testing kits to the world. China and Africa have established 41 counterpart hospital cooperation mechanisms, and the African CDC headquarters building project aided by China officially started at the end of last year. Important progress has also been made in China's cooperation with the United Nations to establish a global humanitarian response warehouse and hub in China. China has fully implemented the G20 "Debt Repayment Initiative for the poorest countries", with a total amount of more than US $1.3 billion, making it the country with the largest amount of debt relief among the G20 members.
 

To continue to support global solidarity against the epidemic, I declare:

-- China will provide an additional US $3 billion million in international assistance over the next three years to support developing countries in their efforts to fight the epidemic and restore economic and social development.

-- China has supplied 0.3 billion doses of vaccine to the world and will do its best to provide more.

-- China supports its vaccine enterprises in technology transfer and cooperative production to developing countries.

-- China has announced its support for the exemption of intellectual property rights for the new coronary pneumonia vaccine, as well as an early decision by international bodies such as the World Trade Organization.

-China proposes the establishment of an international forum for vaccine cooperation, where vaccine production and research countries, enterprises, and stakeholders will work together to discuss how to promote the fair and reasonable distribution of global vaccines.

Colleagues!

The ancient Roman philosopher Seneca said that we are the waves of the same sea. Let us work hand in hand, unswervingly promote international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic, jointly promote the building of a human health community, and jointly safeguard the bright future of human health!

Source: Learning Power "Learning Platform