MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2020) Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention the United States in his speech to the 75th UN General Assembly on Tuesday but did push back against those who ignore or fight against globalization.
This contrasted with a speech by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, who slammed Beijing for allowing COVID-19 to spread by not being forthcoming at the beginning of the outbreak.
"COVID-19 reminds us that economic globalization is an indisputable reality and a historical trend. Burying one's head in the sand like an ostrich in the face of economic globalization or trying to fight it with Don Quixote's lance goes against the trend of history," Xi said as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese leader described the world as an interconnected global village, with all countries sharing a common future. He also pushed against a "zero-sum" approach, advocating mutually beneficial cooperation that respects national differences.
Under the Trump administration, US-China relations have significantly deteriorated, with Washington accusing Beijing of unfair economic practices, human rights violations in some of its regions, and encroachment on the special status of Hong Kong, and lack of transparency with regard to the novel coronavirus epidemic. China has denied the accusations and, in its turn, pointed to various violations of international law on the part of the US and styled itself as the foremost supporter of the globalized economy, in contrast with its increasingly more protectionist critic.
