WEF Davos: Joint efforts only way to fight pandemic, says Chinese President Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said joint efforts are the only way to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and called for fair distribution of vaccines and expedited inoculation drive globally.

In a special address on 'state of the world' on the first day of the week-long online Davos Agenda summit of the World Economic Forum, he said that humanity will certainly move on but the world needs to jointly defeat the pandemic.

He also favoured further opening up of the world economy and greater cooperation.

"We should remove barriers and not build walls. We should open up," he said.

The Chinese president said some developing countries have fallen back into poverty due to the pandemic while some developed countries are also facing hard times.

"Developed nations need responsible economic policies, should control spillover effects of policies to avoid impacting developing countries," he said while asserting that China will continue to open up and is committed to economic and market reforms.

He also called for global rules on the digital economy and greater information sharing across the world.

"The world is undergoing major changes, unseen in a century and how to beat the pandemic and build a post-COVID world are a common concern for people around the world," he said while addressing the summit through video conferencing.