Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L), French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd R), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (1st R) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attend the closing ceremony of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris, France, March 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged countries around the world to make concerted efforts in four aspects and jointly shape the future of mankind in the face of severe global challenges.
Xi made the remarks at the closing ceremony of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris. Besides Xi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the event was also attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
China and France, both important players in global governance, enjoy a broad political consensus and a solid foundation for cooperation on such major issues as safeguarding world peace, security and stability, upholding multilateralism and free trade, and supporting the United Nations (UN) in playing an active role, Xi said.
He noted that China and France are both committed to the principles of mutual respect, mutual trust, equality, openness, inclusiveness and win-win results.
The two countries, he added, have been jointly safeguarding the fundamental principles in international relations and advancing the improvement of global governance, and have become an important force for safeguarding world peace and stability and promoting the advancement of human civilization.
Xi proposed a four-pronged approach to addressing "four deficits" in global affairs.
Firstly, the Chinese president called for fairness and reasonableness to address the governance deficit.
It is advisable to uphold a vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and the principle that global affairs should be settled by the peoples of the world through consultation, Xi said, calling for actively advancing the democratization of global governance rules.
He also called for upholding the UN, a banner of multilateralism, giving full play to the constructive role of global and regional multilateral mechanisms, and jointly pushing for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Secondly, Xi called for consultation and understanding to address the trust deficit.
It is advisable to put mutual respect and mutual trust in the first place, make use of dialogue and consultation, seek common ground while shelving and narrowing differences, increase strategic trust, and reduce mutual suspicion, Xi said.
It is also advisable to take a right approach to justice and interests by putting justice before interests, Xi said.
He urged r communication and dialogue between different civilizations so as to increase mutual understanding and mutual recognition between one another.
Thirdly, he called for joint efforts and mutual assistance to address the peace deficit.
It is advisable to uphold a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, discard Cold-War and zero-sum mentalities, reject the law of the jungle, and settle conflicts through peaceful ways, he said.
He also called for rejecting such approaches as beggaring thy neighbor and seeking benefits at the expense of others.
Fourthly, Xi called for mutual benefit and win-win results to address the development deficit.
It is advisable to pursue an innovation-driven, well-coordinated and inter-connected, and fair and inclusive approach and forge a growth model of vitality, a cooperation model of openness and win-win results, and a development model of balance and common benefits, so that people from across the world could share the benefits of economic globalization, Xi said.
