During the virtual G20 Summit, Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday said that the road to global economic recovery was difficult and asserted that Beijing stood ready to work with all parties to uphold the aspiration of cooperation, and responsiveness and create a better future for humanity.
Li, who represented the Chinese side in the absence of President Xi Jinping, urged G20 member-countries to give high-priority to development cooperation and oppose the politicisation of development issues, according to Xinhua news agency.
However, the Chinese premier only focused on development cooperation during the summit and did not touch upon the Israel-Hamas war, which has been a topic of raging debate among other leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that China will continue to work with all parties in an open and inclusive manner to help world economic recovery and global development.
"It is necessary to coordinate and cooperate more closely, revitalize multilateralism, continue to strengthen macro policy cooperation, and pay more attention to the concerns of developing countries in the reform of the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund," he said.
The G20 Virtual Summit
The G20 virtual summit was chaired by PM Modi, which included Russian President Vladimir Putin's first face-off with Western leaders as the forum steered the discussion on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
In his opening remarks, PM Modi welcomed the release of hostages in the four-day truce between Isreal and Hamas and reiterated that terrorism is unacceptable for all countries. He later said that the 'two-state solution' to the Palestinian problem is the only way for a resolution in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"The deaths of civilians in any country is condemnable. Today, we welcome the news of hostages being released and hope that all remaining hostages are released as soon as possible. It is important to provide timely and sustained humanitarian assistance. It is also important to ensure that the war between Israel and Hamas does not widen into a regional issue," he said.
PM Modi also said that the problems of the Global South must be prioritised for the development of the world in the 21st century, adding that many countries are facing difficulties for which they are not responsible.
Meanwhile, Putin said that Moscow never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine and accused the latter of pulling out of the negotiation process. "By the way, Russia has never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine. It is not Russia, but Ukraine, that has publicly announced that it is withdrawing from the negotiation process. And moreover, a decree was signed by the head of state prohibiting such negotiations with Russia," he added.
He further said that the situation in the global economy requires consensus and consideration of the opinions of different countries. "Now the situation in the global economy, and in the world as a whole, requires collective, consensus decisions that reflect the opinion of the overwhelming majority of the international community, both developed and developing countries," Putin said.
(with inputs from agencies)
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