OnJanuary25,PresidentXiJinpingdeliveredaspecialaddresstitled“LettheTorchofMultilateralismLightupHumanity’sWayForward”attheWorldEconomicForumVirtualEventoftheDavosAgenda.Morethan2,000peoplejoinedthemeetingunderthethemeof“ACrucialYeartoRebuildTrust”toaddressmultiplechallengesposedbytheCOVID-19pandemicandseekforgreaterglobalcooperation.Atthemomentwhenthepandemiccontinuestospread,theinternationalcommunityonceagainplaceshighhopesonChineseexperienceandsolutionstoinfusestrongerimpetusintoglobaldevelopment.PresidentXiJinpingsaidthatChinawilltaketheresponsibilityasamajorcountryandcontributeitsstrengthtoworldeconomicrecoveryandcooperationinthefightagainstthepandemic.Fouryearago,PresidentXiJinpingpointedoutinhiskeynotespeechattheopeningceremonyofthe2017WorldEconomicForumthatwemustredoubleeffortstopromotemultilateralismandkeeptothegoalofbuildingacommunityofsharedfutureformankind.Hiswordsshowedusthewayforwardforeconomicglobalization.Today,theCOVID-19pandemiccontinuestospreadaroundtheworld,andtheworldneedsasolutiontothismajorcrisis.AsPresidentXiemphasizedinhisspeech,“theproblemsfacingtheworldareintricateandcomplex.Thewayoutofthemisthroughupholdingmultilateralismandbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind”,“toupholdmultilateralisminthe21stcentury,weshouldpromoteitsfinetradition,takeonnewperspectivesandlooktothefuture.Weneedtoadapttothechanginginternationallandscapeandrespondtoglobalchallengesastheyrise”,and“weshouldstaycommittedtoopennessandinclusiveness,tointernationallawandinternationalrules,andtoconsultationandcooperationinsteadofconflictandconfrontation.”Hisspeechcallsfortheworldtoadheretoandimplementmultilateralism.Inthepastyear,theglobaleconomyfellintodeeprecession.Thepandemichasalsobroughtaboutnewdevelopmentopportunitiesinglobalizationandindustrialtransformation.Whetherindealingwithchallengesorseizingopportunities,itisnecessarytojoinhandsandmoveforwardtogether.Thepandemichasdealthistoricblowstotheglobalindustrialchain,supplychain,andvaluechain,andledtoaseriesofproblemssuchasglobaleconomicdownturn,marketvolatility,andweakconsumptionandinvestment.AreportreleasedbytheOECDinDecember2020showedthatunderthesevereimpactofthepandemic,theglobaleconomicrecoveryisfullofuncertaintyandregionalvariation.Firstofall,hugedifferencespresentedthemselvesinworldeconomicrecoveryinthepost-pandemicperiod.Withsoundeconomicfoundationandstrongfiscalstimulus,developedeconomiesareexpectedtorecoverrapidly.Undevelopedcountrieswithlowlevelsofhealthcareandeconomicfoundationweretheworstaffected.Intermsofindustries,retailingande-commercehavereboundedquickly,butserviceindustryandinternationaltravelarestillinstagnation.Second,thecombinationofexistingstructuralproblemsandtheimpactofthepandemichaveexacerbatedunevendevelopment.SomeWesterncountriesexposedtheirstructuralproblemsinthelabormarket,production,andresourceallocationsintheearlystageofthepandemic.Theimpactofthepandemichasmadetherichricherandthepoorpoorer,whichfurtherintensifiedclassandsocialdivisions.Besides,deficitsinindustryfundsandproduction,andindustrytransformationcontinuetogetworse.Inmanydevelopedeconomies,industriesarestillrunningundercapacitycomparedtopre-pandemiclevels.Insomecountries,investmentsinindustriesandbusinessesremainatalowlevel.Ononehand,thereisastrongneedtomitigatetheimpactsonfinance,manpower,andsupply.Ontheotherhand,wealsoneedtoseizethefirstopportunitiesfordigitaldevelopmentandgreendevelopment,speeduptheshutdownofoutdatedproductioncapacities,andincreaseinvestmentintechnologyandmanpower.PresidentXi'sspeech,proceedingfromupholdingandpracticingmultilateralism,pointedoutthedirectionforallpartiestorespondtothepandemicandaccelerateeconomicrecovery.First,multilateralismwillhelptoreshapetheglobalgovernancesystembasedonthechangesintheworldstructure.PresidentXisaid,“Weshouldstaycommittedtoopennessandinclusivenessinsteadofclosenessandexclusion.”ThiswillfurtherstrengthentheauthorityoftheinternationalsystemwiththeUnitedNationsatitscoreandmultilateralism,andincreasethevoiceofdevelopingcountriesininternationalaffairs,sothatallpartiescanjointlysafeguardworldpeaceandstabilityandbuildanopenworldeconomy.Second,multilateralismbringsstrongimpetusforglobaleconomicrecovery.PresidentXisaid,“Asalongstandingsupportertoeconomicglobalization,Chinaiscommittedtofollowingthroughonitsfundamentalpolicyofopening-up.”Thiswillfurtheruniteallparties,providingstrongandsustainedimpetustoglobaleconomicrecoveryandglobalizationthroughcooperationandinnovation.Third,multilateralismhelpstopromoteinternationalcooperationagainstthevirus.PresidentXiemphasized,“ChinawillcontinuetotakeanactivepartininternationalcooperationonCOVID-19”,“Chinawillcontinuetoshareitsexperiencewithothercountries,doitsbesttoassistcountriesandregionsthatarelesspreparedforthepandemic.”Thiswillfurtherenhancecooperationinfightingagainstthevirus,vaccinesdevelopmentanddistribution,aswellasinprovidinganti-pandemicmaterials.ThespeechofthePresidentXidemonstratedChina’sleadershipasamajorcountryinpromotingglobalization,andmadeclearthatChinawillmakegreatercontributionstoglobaleconomicrecoveryinthepost-pandemicera.AlatestOECDreportshowsthatChinaistheonlycountrythatachievedpositivegrowthin2020,andChina’economicgrowthisestimatedtoreach8%in2021.Asthefirstcountryintheworldthathascontainedthepandemicandachievedstablesocio-economicdevelopment,China’seconomywillbecomemoreresilient,sustainable,competitive,andinclusive.Containingthepandemicandachievingeconomicrecoveryaretwomajorchallengesfacingtheworld,andalsothetwofieldswheremultilateralismismostbadlyneeded.Inthepastyear,Chinaprovedthroughactionsthatitwillcontinuetojointlypreserveandpracticemultilateralism,andpromotethebuildingofacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.PresidentXicalledforlettingthetorchofmultilateralismlightuphumanity’swayforward,whichwillsurelyreceivepositiveresponsesfromtheinternationalcommunity.ContributedbyWanZhe,BeijingNormalUniversityTranslatedbyRenMeiqi