Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, addresses the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament via video link on Sept. 7, 2021. [Xinhua/Yao Dawei]

BEIJING -- Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said on Tuesday China's NPC is ready to continue enhancing cooperation with Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and legislative bodies of all countries to jointly counter global challenges and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Li made the remarks when addressing the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament via video link.

Li said the international situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, as demonstrated by the repeated resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic as well as global and regional issues. People of all countries are increasingly aspiring for life safety, and the call for peaceful development is becoming stronger.

Noting people's life should be the priority, Li called for bringing the pandemic under control as soon as possible, and conducting international cooperation on vaccines production and distribution, pandemic response, essential supplies and public health, among others.

While battling the coronavirus, Li said the world should also keep fighting the political virus, and oppose the practices of putting politics above science and politicizing issues such as origins-tracing.

Li called for respecting the development paths and systems independently chosen by the people of various countries and settling disputes and hotspot issues through political and peaceful means; and safeguarding the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, and promoting global governance on a more just and reasonable track.

Hosted by the IPU, the conference is the largest gathering of world parliaments at the highest level. It has been held every five years since 2000.