Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, September 5, 2023. /Xinhua
China is ready to cooperate closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and make significant contributions to the cause of promoting human peace and progress, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday during a meeting with the visiting president of the ICRC Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
Xi spoke highly of the ICRC’s fruitful work in international humanitarianism over the past 160 years since its establishment and appreciated the ICRC’s important contributions to world peace and progress.
Xi pointed out that human society is facing many challenges, and under such circumstances, China has not stood alone, but has strengthened cooperation with other countries to find solutions and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Xi said he put forward the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative in the hope that China can work together with other countries to achieve economic development, improve people’s livelihoods, achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, and provide China’s concepts and solutions to strengthen global governance and the governance of humanitarian issues.
He emphasized that humanitarianism is the biggest consensus that can unite different civilizations. Concepts in traditional Chinese culture such as “a benevolent person loves others” and “don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you”, are compatible with the aims of the International Red Cross Movement.
Adhering to the concept of putting the people first, China has won the battle against poverty, and in the face of the COVID-19, it has protected the lives and health of its own people, and also carried out the largest global humanitarian assistance operation in history, he said.
Facts have proved that China is an active supporter, participant and contributor to the international humanitarian cause, he said.
Spoljaric congratulated China on having the highest number of recipients of the 49th Florence Nightingale Award, saying that it reflects the high recognition by the ICRC and the international community of China’s achievements in the development of its humanitarian cause.
China has always respected and implemented international humanitarian law, she noted, adding that the joint construction of the Belt and Road promotes global development and contributes to the global humanitarian cause.
The ICRC highly appreciates China’s active role and important contributions to the international humanitarian cause, and looks forward to further deepening cooperation with China and making new contributions to the promotion of world peace and development as well as to the international humanitarian cause, she said.
