Xinhua Top 10 News Events of the Year
The top 10 world news events in the year of 2020 as rated by the World’s biggest news agency, Xinhua.
COVID-19 pandemic rages across globe
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the COVID-19 outbreak can be characterized as a “pandemic.” As of Dec. 30, Beijing Time, there were over 80 million confirmed cases and more than 1.77 million relevant deaths, according to WHO data. The wide impact and great loss it caused, as well as the difficulty in prevention and control have all made the pandemic a global public health crisis rarely seen in human history.
Notion of building community with shared future for mankind enjoys growing popularity
Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the idea of building a global community of health for all in March. From building a global community of health for all, to building a shared future for all life on Earth, and to the four communities of health, security, development and cultural exchanges at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has been constantly enriched.
Chinese head of state promotes through “cloud diplomacy”
On March 26, Xi attended the Group of 20 (G20) Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19 via video link and called for a collective response against the pandemic in his speech.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Xi has carried out “telephone diplomacy” and “letter diplomacy,” attended or chaired virtual meetings including the World Health Assembly (WHA), the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit On Solidarity Against COVID-19, a series of high-level meetings marking the United Nations (UN)’ 75th anniversary, the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, the BRICS meeting, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 summit. During these meetings, Xi put forward China’s solutions to promoting anti-COVID-19 cooperation, boosting economic recovery, and improving global governance.
solidarity,
cooperation
Racial conflicts expose U.S. malady of human rights
On May 25, African-American George Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death triggered prolonged, large-scale protests against racism and police brutality across the United States.
Abe resigns as Japanese prime minister and his policies largely stay
On Aug. 28, Japan’s then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would resign over health concerns. On Sept. 14, the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and succeeded Abe as the new prime minister on Sept. 16, officially capping the Abe era that lasted for more than seven years, the longest of any Japanese prime minister.
United Nations champions multilateralism at 75th anniversary
On Sept. 21, the UN held a high-level meeting to commemorate its 75th anniversary, during which its members adopted a declaration to stress the significance of multilateralism and international cooperation, and reaffirm its commitment to sustainable development, environmental protection, peace, justice, gender equality, etc.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses threat to regional security Armed conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region flared up on Sept. 27. Despite three cease-fire deals in October brokered by countries like Russia and the United States, the violent clashes saw no stop.
Hard-hit global economy plunges into deep recession
Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and other negative factors, the global economy was projected to contract by 4.4 percent in 2020, said a World Economic Outlook report issued by the International Monetary Fund on Oct. 13.
Signing of RCEP bolsters multilateral cooperation
On Nov. 15, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement was signed among its 15 participating countries, namely the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, and set up a free trade bloc with the largest participating population in the world, the most diverse membership, and the greatest development potential.
Hard-won post-Brexit trade deal averts lose-lose situation Following nine months of protracted tortuous negotiations, Britain and the European Union (EU) on Dec. 24 finally secured a free trade deal, which will govern the EUUK trade and security relationship starting from Jan. 1, 2021.