The World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda Summit this year has been exploring ways for the global community to address common concerns.
Its first day witnessed speeches by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, among others. While delivering their “State of the World” addresses, the main focus of these leaders was on the COVID-19 challenge, climate change, the deepening financial crisis and post-pandemic recovery.
The three leaders shared a similar vision for 2022 and beyond. They emphasized further opening up of the world economy and greater cooperation and solidarity in tackling common global challenges. “We should remove barriers and not erect walls,” said President Xi.
Xi explained that humanity will certainly move on but the world needs to jointly defeat the pandemic. “A giant ship is strong enough to brave the storm”. The pandemic impacts health and the economy and thus he cautioned that “holding each other back and shifting blame, will only shift our objectives”. He further advised: “The world needs to discard the Cold War mentality and confrontation will lead to disastrous consequences. We need to explore new drivers of economic growth to promote steady and robust global economic recovery.”
President Xi was more categorical when explaining the present global scenario: “Protectionism and unilateralism can protect no one; they ultimately hurt the interest of others as well as one’s own. Even worse are the practices of hegemony and bullying, which run counter to the tide of history”. He thus suggested that “developed nations need responsible economic policies, should control spill-over effects of policies to avoid impacting developing countries”.
The speeches by President Xi and Prime Minister Modi underscored the potential of their respective nations and people for contributing towards meeting challenges and building a better world based on equity, justice and fairness. Xi advocated for a “global community of health for all”, while Modi talked of “one earth, one health”. Both leaders highlighted their own efforts in overcoming the pandemic crisis and in accelerating the pace of economic recovery and social resilience.
The world has seen millions of COVID-19 cases and subsequent deaths so far. In explaining the gravity of the pandemic, President Xi also noted that the economic impact has led to an increase in poverty, and that the Human Development Index has declined for the first time in 30 years. He therefore called for a more equitable distribution of vaccines and an acceleration in vaccination rollouts. China has endeavored to help others, he said: The country provided 2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations in 2021. This year Xi has promised to provide another 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to African countries and 150 million to ASEAN countries.
President Xi stressed that the Chinese economy grows steadily despite challenges, including epidemic resurgences and a complicated external environment. He added that “the wealth of a country is measured in the abundance of its people”. Hence, China has made it a clear aim to strive for more visible and substantive progress in the well-rounded development of individuals and the common prosperity of the entire population.
In order to achieve common prosperity, there is a need to be more innovative, Xi said, and therefore, “….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”.
Similarly Prime Minister Modi highlighted that India has developed safe and successful digital platforms and is committed to making it easier to do business in the country, thereby improving the global supply chain and creating a conducive environment for investors. He added that India has an abundance of technological skills and an availability of talent. Both India and China are thus making tangible economic progress despite the hiccup generated by the pandemic, and are substantially contributing to mitigating global challenges and shaping the emerging world order.
President Xi expressed his commitment to reform and opening up, and his faith in multilateralism in furthering the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the goals of COP 15 and COP26. He also discussed the deepening economic and trade ties achieved through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasized the need for global solidarity in facing the pandemic and climate change, and said that the global financial system needs to play a part in the global economic recovery in a way that works for all countries, with private sector engagement also serving an important role.
However, Guterres lamented the fact that international financial institutions are not doing enough to create forms of partnership to de-risk private investment in lower-income countries during their transition, and therefore “global solidarity is missing in action”. He thus cautioned that “we cannot continue building walls between haves and have-nots”, and emphasised the need to come together for recovery through 2022.
Therefore, it is imperative that India and China, in collaboration with the United Nations, devise a common strategy to implement the vision spelled out in the UN Secretary General’s Report, “Our Common Agenda”, and initiate efforts to make the WEF an effective instrument of public-private partnership for post-COVID-19 recovery in shaping a multilateralism-driven world order based on equity and fairness.
Such joint efforts at the global level can help to overcome the Cold War mentality, focused on politico-strategic designs, and instead deliver development.
To summarise, the leaders advocated for global solidarity in facing current and emerging challenges, greater commitment to opening up, and economic and market reforms fit for building a post-COVID world.
For this, President Xi has rightly concluded that “different countries and civilizations may prosper together on the basis of respect for each other, and seek common ground and win-win outcomes by setting aside differences. … We should choose dialogue over confrontation, inclusiveness over exclusion, and stand against all forms of unilateralism, protectionism, hegemony or power politics”. This implies a need for constant engagement and dialogue among different systems, development paths, cultures and visions in order to realize the goals of peace and prosperity for the sake of humanity and posterity.
The author is former director and emeritus fellow of the South Asia Studies Centre at India’s University of Rajasthan.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.