President praises international forum for its advocacy of multilateralism

President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory letter to the 2024 Imperial Springs International Forum, which opened in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday.

In the letter, Xi pointed out that since the forum was established 10 years ago, it has adhered to advocating multilateralism, conducted in-depth discussions on global governance issues, actively shared China's propositions, and played a positive role in enhancing exchanges and understanding between China and countries worldwide.

In a world marked by intertwined changes and turmoil, peace and development remain the shared aspirations of all peoples, he emphasized.

China stands ready to work with other countries in the spirit of promoting global solidarity, upholding fairness and justice to safeguard global peace and stability, adhering to win-win cooperation to promote sustainable global development, and committing to inclusiveness and mutual learning to advance human civilization to new heights, Xi said.

The president's message has won wide recognition and support from the 130 participants of the forum, including former heads of state and government, business leaders, representatives of international organizations and academic experts from more than 40 countries and regions.

Upholding the forum's theme of "Collective Action for One Future", the participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as challenges to global security and the world economy, reform of global governance, and artificial intelligence and green technology for sustainable development.

Hu Chunhua, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech on China's initiatives on global security, development and civilization.

Common development is the key to lasting peace, he said, adding that China will stick to its opening-up policy to provide more development opportunities to the world.

Acknowledging that the world faces multiple challenges, the forum's participants praised China's initiatives and proposals, and emphasized the crucial role of multilateralism for collaboration and the need for practical implementation.

Danilo Turk, former president of Slovenia and president of Club de Madrid, one of the organizers of the forum, said there is no future without prosperity, and prosperity must not be confined to a selective few or limited regions in the world.

"Open trade is a vital engine for growth, innovation and poverty alleviation. … It is very encouraging to hear today that China's policy of opening-up is continuing," Turk said.

Csaba Korosi, a Hungarian diplomat who served as president of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, said the current crises were the results of geopolitical competition and nonsustainable ways of development, and to deal with these crises, the world needs well-functioning multilateralism now more than ever.

"However, there are strong voices in many countries claiming their interests are not well represented on multilateral platforms. This sentiment can be heard in Africa, in the United States, and in some European and Asian countries," Korosi said.

"But that doesn't mean we don't need multilateralism. It means we must sit down and think about how to adjust some institutions and their rules, and how to follow the goals we jointly agreed upon," he added.

Aminata Toure, former prime minister of Senegal, said that African countries look forward to expanding relationships with China, because they share similar experiences of unequal treatment in history, and African countries have the ambition to reduce poverty.

The forum was jointly held by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association, the Guangdong provincial government and the Club de Madrid.

Xinhua contributed to this story.