China's UN ambassador urges peace efforts amid pandemic

China's envoy to the United Nations has called for efforts to build and sustain peace amid the COVID-19 pandemic through a people-centered approach.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, spoke on Wednesday during a high-level open debate in the Security Council on the challenges to achieving sustainable peace as the coronavirus pandemic ravages communities worldwide.

At the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded the council that the virus threatens not only hard-won developmental and peace-building gains, but also "risks exacerbating conflicts or fomenting new ones".

Against the backdrop of growing questions over the effectiveness of health systems and trust in institutions and governance across the globe, he said: "All of this means that our commitment to sustaining peace is more urgent than ever".

Zhang echoed Guterres' call, saying:"China calls on all parties to conflict to respond to the secretary-general's appeal for a global cease-fire as soon as possible, not only to lay down their arms and silence the guns but also to coordinate actions against COVID-19.

"We should support the UN and the WHO (World Health Organization) in mobilizing countries to further strengthen policy coordination and increase resources to help with the preparation and response of the conflict-affected countries."

Zhang pointed out that "unilateral sanctions are seriously undermining the basic capacity of targeted countries in responding to the pandemic and safeguarding livelihoods, making innocent civilians the biggest victims".

"We once again strongly urge relevant countries to acknowledge the negative humanitarian consequences and immediately lift their unilateral coercive measures," he said.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the ambassador said China has been actively engaged in the global fight.

He highlighted that in June, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19, which he believes demonstrated the determination of China and Africa to fight the disease together. Additionally, China said it had decided to cancel the debt on interest-free loans to certain African countries due by the end of 2020.

Global public good

China is ready to continue providing medical supplies to affected countries, share experience in diagnosis and treatment and send medical experts to assist the countries' responses, Zhang said, adding that once China developed a COVID-19 vaccine it would become a global public good.

Guterres' predecessor as UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, told the council: "It is truly astonishing that in response to this pandemic, the world has placed billions of people under lockdowns, closed international borders, suspended trade and migration, and temporarily shut down a whole variety of industries－but has not managed to suspend armed conflicts.

"The impact of COVID-19 on conflict-affected settings has been much worse than initially thought," said Ban, who is a co-chair of a group of prominent world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela and known as The Elders.

Zhang said there is no doubt that the pandemic has brought tremendous impact and challenges to the world. "We have every reason to believe that humankind will eventually prevail and make the world a better place. To make that happen, we must be united and uphold multilateralism."

Hong Xiao at the United Nations, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.