Xi Jinping urges greater global coordination to aid pandemic recovery

China's President Xi Jinping urged greater coordination of global efforts to fight the pandemic, calling for a continued focus on people's health despite debate over the costs of Covid Zero policies

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Bloomberg

China would continue its commitment to open up to the world, Xi told the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia via video link Thursday. Participants in the annual event held in China’s southernmost Hainan province included Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

“We need to work together to defend people’s lives and health,” Xi said. “Safety and health are the prerequisite for human development and progress.”

China is seeking to support economic growth weighed down by lockdown measures to contain the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks since the early days of the pandemic. March data showed the biggest contraction in retail sales and a surge in unemployment to the highest since early 2020, even before more stringent virus-control measures were introduced in places like Shanghai in April.

“We have yet to walk from the shadow of a once-in-a-century pandemic,” Xi said.

Economists at banks from UBS Group AG to Nomura Holdings Inc. have cut their full-year growth forecasts to well below the governments’ official 5.5% growth target. That adds social risks to the political pressures confronting Xi as he prepares for a twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle later this year expected to give him a precedent-breaking third term as Communist Party leader.

China has also faced criticism from the country’s largest markets, the U.S. and European Union, for refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Xi support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for attacking his neighbor has fueled fears of foreign sanctions and an accelerated decoupling from the West.

In his speech, Xi took a few veiled swipes at the U.S., urging a rejection of what he called a “Cold War mentality” and “small circle” alliances.