"We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation. We will not seek to develop only ourselves or engage in zero-sum game," Xi said in a pre-recorded video statement to the annual gathering of world leaders, conducted virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Long-simmering tensions between the United States and China hit boiling point over the pandemic, spotlighting Beijing's bid for greater multilateral influence in a challenge to Washington's traditional leadership. The coronavirus emerged in China late last year and Washington accuses Beijing of a lack of transparency that it says worsened the outbreak. China denies the US assertions. In what appeared to be a rebuke to US President Donald Trump, though both leaders' speeches were pre-recorded, Xi called for a global response to the virus and giving the World Health Organization a leading role. Trump has announced plans for the United States to leave the Geneva-based WHO, accusing the agency of being a puppet of China, a claim the WHO denied.
