President Xi Jinping has called for countries to stand together to promote global peace and stability, stressing that “there were no winners in tariff wars”, in a veiled reference to the US.

“The world is undergoing a century of rapid change, with multiple risks compounding one another. Only through solidarity and cooperation can countries maintain world peace and stability,” he said.

Xi told the gathering that China and countries from Latin America and the Caribbean were important members of the Global South, adding that development was their inherent right and that fairness and justice were their shared pursuits.

China was willing to work with countries in the face of rising geopolitical tensions and bloc confrontations and the “surging undercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism”, he said.