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BEIJING, Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

In early October, the International Monetary Fund, in its World Economic

Outlook, trimmed its 2021 global growth forecast to 5.9 percent and warned of

high uncertainty in economic recovery.

Against such a backdrop, the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies

gathered in Italy's Rome on Saturday trying to make the multilateral platform

work again — just as it did when they held two summits a year in the immediate

aftermath of the 2008 global financial meltdown.

China, the important growth engine of the global economy, highlighted

cooperation, inclusiveness and green development at the 16th Group of 20 (G20)

Leaders' Summit.

Cooperation against pandemic

As the COVID-19 still ravages the world, global vaccine cooperation was

prioritized by Chinese President Xi Jinping when delivering his speech via

video at the first session of the summit.

He proposed a six-point Global Vaccine Cooperation Action Initiative with a

focus on vaccine R&D cooperation, fair distribution of vaccines, waiving

intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, smooth trade in vaccines,

mutual recognition of vaccines and financial support for global vaccine

cooperation.

Inequality in vaccine distribution is prominent, with low-income countries

receiving less than 0.5 percent of the global total and less than 5 percent of

Africa's population is fully vaccinated, according to the World Health

Organization (WHO).

The WHO has set two targets to deal with the pandemic: to vaccinate at least 40

percent of the world's population by the end of this year and increase it to 70

percent by mid-2022.

"China is ready to work with all parties to increase the accessibility and

affordability of vaccines in developing countries and make positive

contributions to building a global vaccine defense line," Xi said.

China has provided over 1.6 billion doses of vaccines for over 100 countries

and international organizations to date. In total, China will provide over 2

billion doses for the world in the whole year, he added, noting that China is

conducting joint vaccine production with 16 countries.

Building open world economy

In promoting the economic recovery, the president stressed that the G20 should

prioritize development in macro policy coordination, calling for making global

development more equitable, effective and inclusive to ensure that no country

will be left behind.

"Advanced economies should fulfill their pledges on official development

assistance and provide more resources for developing countries," Xi said.

He also welcomed the active participation of more countries in the Global

Development Initiative.

Not long ago, he proposed the Global Development Initiative at the United

Nations and called on the international community to strengthen cooperation in

areas of poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 response and vaccines,

development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization,

digital economy and connectivity.

The initiative is highly compatible with the G20's goal and priority of

promoting global development, Xi said.

Adherence to green development

Meanwhile, addressing climate change is high on the global agenda as the 26th

session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention

on Climate Change will open on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.

In this context, Xi urged developed countries to lead by example on emissions

reduction, saying that countries should fully accommodate the special

difficulties and concerns of developing countries, deliver on their commitments

of climate financing, and provide technology, capacity-building and other

support for developing countries.

"This is critically important for the success of the upcoming COP26," he said.

Xi has, on many occasions, highlighted China's view on global climate

governance and expressed China's firm support for the Paris Agreement,

facilitating major progress at the global level.

In 2015, Xi delivered a keynote speech at the Paris Conference on Climate

Change, making a historic contribution to the conclusion of the Paris Agreement

on global climate action after 2020.

Earlier this month, he emphasized efforts to achieve China's carbon peak and

neutrality targets when addressing the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of

the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The G20 summit this year was held both online and offline under the Italian

Presidency, focusing on the most pressing global challenges, with issues

related to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic recovery topping

the agenda.

Created in 1999, the G20 comprising 19 countries plus the European Union, is

the main forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues.

The group accounts for almost two-thirds of the world's population, over 80

percent of the global Gross Domestic Product and 75 percent of global trade.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-10-30/China-puts-forward-proposals-on-boosting-global-development-14MDU37P5gk/index.html

SOURCE: CGTN