WEF: China’s Xi warns against ‘Cold War mentality’, pushes cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for greater world cooperation against Covid-19 in his opening speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held online this year rather than at the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.

He also called on other nations to reject a “Cold War mentality” at a time of rising geopolitical tensions — a veiled swipe at the United States.

“We need to discard Cold War mentality and seek peaceful co-existence and win-win outcomes. Our world today is far from being tranquil,” the Chinese leader said. “Protectionism and unilateralism can protect no one. They ultimately hurt the interests 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.”

“A zero-sum approach that enlarges one’s own gain at the expense of others will not help,” he added. “The right way forward for humanity is peaceful development and win-win cooperation.”

In his speech Xi praised his country’s efforts to share vaccines, fight climate change and promote economic development at home and abroad.

Xi said China had already sent abroad more than two billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccines and plans to provide an additional one billion, including a donation of 600 million doses to Africa and an extra 150 million to southeast Asia.

Postponed annual meeting

Heads of state are joining business leaders and other prominent figures this week to discuss pressing issues at the WEF’s Davos Agenda 2022 conference, held from January 17-21.

The online meeting has been organised in place of the Geneva-based WEF’s annual summit, which normally sees the world’s rich and powerful converge on the Swiss mountain resort of Davos each winter, but which has been moved to the summer due to the pandemic.

The online event will also feature speeches on Monday by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Panel talks on technology cooperation and Covid-19, featuring Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, are also scheduled.