China prepared to cooperate with India on COVID-19 vaccine: Prez Xi

Beijing: After PM Modi addressed the 12th BRICS conference through video conferencing, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the summit said that "BRICS countries must stand up for equity and justice in the world."

"The world is caught between a pandemic of the century and momentous changes never seen in the last one hundred years. The international landscape keeps evolving in profound ways.  Human society is going through the most serious pandemic in the past century," the Chinese president said, adding,"The world economy is witnessing the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s." 

The Chinese president said that his country is prepared to cooperate with India over the coronavirus vaccine.

"Prepare to have cooperation with India on the vaccine," Xi Jinping said.

"We remain convinced that the theme of our times, peace and development has not changed and that the trend toward multipolarity and economic globalization cannot be turned around. We must keep people's welfare close to heart and pursue the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind," the Chinese president asserted.

"Through concrete actions, we will contribute our share to making the world a better place. Facing the choice between multilateralism and unilateralism, and between justice and hegemony, BRICS countries must stand up for equity and justice in the world," Xi Jinping said.

"We must hold high the banner of multilateralism and defend the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UN. We must endeavour to safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. It is important that countries rise above ideology and respect each other's choices of social system, economic model and development path consistent with their national conditions," the Chinese president said.