China’s Xi rejects ‘Cold War mentality’ at Davos

Xi Jinping also called for greater global cooperation against Covid-19, promising 1bn jabs for Africa

GENEVA: Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Monday that confrontation between major powers could have “catastrophic consequences” in a speech to world leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum.

For the second year in a row the face-to-face gathering of political and corporate power players in the Swiss Alps has had to go online due to a pandemic that shows no sign of abating. He touted China - where the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019 as a rare pandemic success story and the only major economy to continue posting strong growth.

He presented himself as the defender of multilateralism and also gave sober warnings for the future as relations between major powers plunge. “Our world today is far from the tranquil, rhetoric that stokes hatred and prejudice abound,” he said, according to an official translation of the speech,

“History has proved time and again that confrontation does not solve problems, it only invites catastrophic consequences,” he added. He urged other powers to discard a “Cold-war mentality” at a time of rising geopolitical tensions — a veiled swipe at the United States.

He also announced that China will supply another one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to African countries, and an additional 150 million vaccine doses will donated to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries.

Meanwhile, China’s GDP grew 8.1% in 2021 riding out a slump in the second half of the year when the economy was besieged by a crippling power shortage, real estate sector turmoil and a drop in consumption because of Covid-19-related restrictions.

Fourth quarter GDP rose by 4% from a year ago, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

The country’s total GDP in 2021 reached 114.37 trillion yuan ($18 trillion), the NBS said.

With inputs by Sutirtho Patranobis