Senior Chinese diplomat calls for joint efforts to uphold multilateralism

BEIJING -- Upholding multilateralism still represents a compelling consensus shared by the international community and corresponds with the aspiration of countries, a senior Chinese diplomat has said.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks on Friday in a written interview with Xinhua after he wrapped up the visits to Myanmar, Spain and Greece.

For some time, the headwinds of unilateralism and protectionism have disrupted and damaged international coordination and cooperation, casting a shadow on the economic and social development of countries across the world, Yang said.

Yet, he noted that multilateralism constitutes an important foundation for the operation and development of multilateral mechanisms after World War II, a prerequisite for promoting global governance and an effective way to safeguard world peace and bolster common development.

China, Yang said, has always maintained that the international order is by no means an order where some countries are above others.

Sovereign equality and multilateralism still remain the mainstream in today's world, he added.

In the interview, Yang also called for firmly upholding multilateralism, safeguarding the international order and system with the United Nations at its core and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as its foundation.

Noting that some countries attribute their own problems to globalization, even shift the blame to others, incite the Cold War mentality and create estrangement and confrontations among countries, Yang said such acts are totally wrong and their attempts will never succeed.

Yang said during his visit, leaders of Myanmar, Spain and Greece all expressed their hope to strengthen communication and cooperation with China in improving global governance and jointly support the multilateral system.

The three countries agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that mankind is a community with a shared future, he said, adding that China and the three countries are opposed to politicizing the pandemic and stigmatizing other countries.

China will join the three countries in supporting the World Health Organization in playing a leading role in the global fight against the pandemic, strengthen coordination and cooperation within such multilateral frameworks as the United Nations, the Group of 20 and the World Trade Organization, jointly advocate multilateralism and free trade, maintain stability and promote democracy in international relations, and steer the development of the global governance system in a fairer and more equitable direction, Yang said.