BEIJING — Experts have praised China's commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind and its efforts to promote international cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on May 24 answered questions by journalists from home and abroad on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual national legislative session.

China has been firmly safeguarding multilateralism and striving to improve global governance, and has made important contributions to world peace and stability, experts said.

Tanaka Chitsa, a researcher at the Southern African Research and Documentation Center in Zimbabwe, said that China has made important contributions to safeguarding multilateralism, world equity and justice, and promoting global economic and social development.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China enables countries with different ideological and cultural backgrounds to join forces and cooperate on the basis of seeking common ground while reserving differences to achieve a win-win situation, said Chitsa.

China, he added, has taken the initiative to make its stance known on various international occasions, actively safeguarded the interests of the vast number of developing countries, and won the trust and friendship of developing countries over the years.

Constanza Jorquera, a scholar at the School of Politics at Diego Portales University in Chile, said that China is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind and improving global governance, which is of significant importance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Francisco Carrion, Ecuador's former foreign minister, said that while COVID-19 continued to spread, China has provided medical supplies to many countries, shared its anti-COVID-19 experiences and provided great help to global efforts in fighting against the virus, which demonstrates its responsibility as a major country.

At present, all countries should eliminate differences and prejudices, enhance cooperation and jointly combat the pandemic, Carrion said.

Any action of stigmatizing, shirking responsibilities or even provoking racism and xenophobia will negatively impact the global fight against COVID-19 and ultimately hurt human society, he added.

Gerd Kaminski, a scholar and the director of the Austrian Institute for China and Southeast Asia Studies, said that in today's world, there is no room for isolationism and egoism, and countries must work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

It is commendable that China has been committed to promoting international cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, he added.

U Khin Maung Lynn, joint secretary of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said that COVID-19 has once again highlighted the importance of multilateralism.

All countries should unite to fight the pandemic, he said, noting that China has cooperated with other countries to mobilize material, technical and human resources, and has made important contributions to the global fight against COVID-19.

Apart from public health, unity and cooperation are also needed in other fields, and only in this way can a peaceful and stable international environment be created, he added.