China’s president delivered a speech titled "Forge Ahead with Confidence and Fortitude to Jointly Create a Better Post-Covid World".
The speech by President Xi, was not just call for cooperation towards global economic recovery but was a battle cry of hope for a better and more prosperous post Covid 19 era. President Xi also gave a sterling political speech touching key Marxist principles such as dialectical materialism and the law interpenetration of opposites; and the negation of the negation. The speech was dipped in rich politics and understanding of the global political macro environment.
In the speech President Xi emphasized the meaning behind this years Chinese New Year and the symbolism of this being the Year of the Tiger.
China will celebrate the advent of spring in the lunar new year, the Year of the Tiger. In Chinese culture, tiger symbolizes bravery and strength, as the Chinese people often refer to spirited dragon and dynamic tiger, or soaring dragon and leaping tiger.
The speech was laced with insightful Chinese adages and historical sayings which imparted invaluable wisdom and clarity, one such saying goes, "The momentum of the world either flourishes or declines; the state of the world either progresses or regresses." President Xi went on to say that, the world is always developing through the movement of contradictions; without contradiction, nothing would exist.
The history of humanity is a history of achieving growth by meeting various tests and of developing by overcoming various crises. We need to move forward by following the logic of historical progress, and develop by riding the tide of development of our times. This indicative of an appreciation of historical dialectical materialism.
President Xi was firm in his conviction regarding the need to embrace cooperation in order to defeat the pandemic. This is within the context of us all being confronted by the pandemic, which will continue and has affected the future of humanity, the international community has fought a tenacious battle. The virus has made lucid the undeniable reality that we must all focus our efforts and work together to collectively overcome the common challenges that we are confronting. All efforts that undermine any and all of efforts to work together must be looked at with great suspicion.
Strong confidence and cooperation represent the only right way to defeat the pandemic. We need a commitment to truth and to stop shifting blame as this would only cause needless delay in response and distract us from the overall objective. Countries need to strengthen international cooperation against Covid-19, carry out active cooperation on research and development of medicines, jointly build multiple lines of defence against the coronavirus, and speed up efforts to build a global community of health for all. Cooperation has been a central message and guiding principle for China over the past couple of years. It has underpinned China’s global outlook and has helped the seamless creation of sustainable and win-win relationship that have been characteristic of China and its people.
The global industrial and supply chains have been disrupted. Commodity prices continue to rise. Energy supply remains tight. These risks compound one another and heighten the uncertainty about economic recovery. The global low inflation environment has notably changed, and the risks of inflation driven by multiple factors are surfacing. If major economies slam on the brakes or take a U-turn in their monetary policies, there would be serious negative spillovers.
In the context of ongoing Covid-19 response, we need to explore new drivers of economic growth, new modes of social life and new pathways for people-to-people exchange, in a bid to facilitate cross-border trade, keep industrial and supply chains secure and smooth, and promote steady and solid progress in global economic recovery.
The virus has undoubtedly brought us closer together and as such, in line with the Belt and Road Initiative- we must build bridges and not tear them down. We must be in constant pursuit of building connections that will stand us in good stead for the future that awaits.
As President XI put it, “Countries around the world should uphold true multi-lateralism. We should remove barriers, not erect walls. We should open up, not close off. We should seek integration, not decoupling. This is the way to build an open world economy.”