President Xi Jinping Attends Extraordinary G20 Leaders Summit and Delivers Important Remarks

On the evening of March 26， President Xi Jinping attended the Extraordinary G20 Leaders Summit on COVID-19 in Beijing and delivered a speech entitled， “Working Together to Defeat the COVID-19 Outbreak.”

Xi stressed that as COVID-19 is spreading across the world， it is imperative for the international community to strengthen confidence， act with unity， and work together to formulate a collective response so that humanity as one can win the battle against such a major infectious virus. Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind， China will be more than ready to provide assistance where it can to other countries and contribute to a stable world economy.

The summit was chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia， who holds the G20 presidency this year. It was attended by leaders of G20 member states and some invited countries and heads of the World Health Organization， the United Nations， the International Monetary Fund， and the World Bank as well as some other international organizations.

All parties shared a common view that the fast spreading of COVID-19 has not only seriously undermined global public health security but also brought about enormous setbacks in economic， financial， and political terms. It is imperative to take prompt， coordinated， and robust action to effectively stem the spread of the virus， strengthen joint research and development of drugs and vaccines， enhance the treatment of those affected， and protect the lives and health of people. They called for effective fiscal and monetary policies to keep global supply chains safe and stable， maintain global financial stability， spur an early recovery of the world economy， and minimize the economic and social damage caused by COVID-19. All parties expressed support for the leading role of the WHO and committed to helping developing countries and vulnerable groups enhance preparedness and response capacity.

The summit released a statement on COVID-19.

The summit， hosted by Saudi Arabia via video link， was aimed at promoting global cooperation on fighting the epidemic and stabilizing the world economy.

President Xi and Premier Li Exchange Congratulatory Messages with Their Indian Counterparts on the 70th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations

On April 1， 2020， President Xi Jinping and Indian President Ram Nath Kovind exchanged congratulatory messages， warmly congratulating each other on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations.

In his message， Xi Jinping pointed out that China-India relations have experienced extraordinary development over the past 70 years. The two countries have established a strategic cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity， and are endeavoring to build an even closer partnership. The two sides enjoy increasingly deep bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields， and are constantly enhancing coordination on important regional and international affairs.

Ram Nath Kovind said in his message that during the past 70 years， bilateral ties have been increasingly strengthened in such fields as politics， economy， and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Keeping a good relationship is in line with both countries interests and of great importance to regional and even global peace and prosperity.

On the same day， Premier Li Keqiang also exchanged congratulatory messages with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Li stated that China is willing to take the 70th anniversary as an opportunity to continue to push the China-India strategic cooperative partnership toward new achievements. Modi said that the two countries should strengthen coordination and solidarity and address global challenges together.

President Xi Has Telephonic Conversation with South African President

On the evening of April 8， President Xi Jinping spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the phone.

Xi noted that “comradeship plus brotherhood”is what characterizes the special friendship between the two countries. He reaffirmed Chinas firm support to South Africa in fighting COVID-19. China is prepared to help where it can in light of South Africas needs， including sharing epidemic control experience and strengthening medical and health care cooperation.

Xi underscored that China has been closely monitoring the situation in Africa and has provided batches of assistance supplies to the African Union and all African countries with diplomatic ties to China. Chinese and African medical experts held multiple video conferences to exchange experience， and many Chinese businesses， localities， and non-governmental agencies have been actively donating medical supplies to Africa.

Ramaphosa commended Chinas strong and effective steps in bringing the outbreak under control and described them as exemplary for other countries to learn from. He said， Chinas valuable assistance to South Africa and other African countries in fighting the virus during this testing time is of great importance and has strengthened Africas confidence.