Xi calls for ‘equal, orderly multipolar world' as China hosts Asian Games

China's President Xi Jinping Friday called for building an “equal” and “orderly multipolar world,” according to an official communique.

Addressing visiting foreign leaders before opening the 9th Asian Winter Games, Xi urged Asian nations to “hold fast to the common dream of peace and amity, jointly respond to all sorts of security challenges, and contribute to building an equal and orderly multipolar world.”

China is hosting the Asian Winter Games in the northeastern Heilongjiang province, which will run through Feb. 14.

Some 1,300 athletes are participating from 34 countries and regions, including North Korea, Japan, and South Korea.

The Asian Winter Games “embodies Asian people's shared aspirations for peace, prosperity and friendship,” said Xi, calling for “common commitment to realizing these goals.”

Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik are among the foreign guests attending the opening ceremony of the games.

Stressing the “shared pursuit of prosperity and development,” the Chinese president called on Asian people to “seek common progress and inject impetus into economic globalization.”

“To realize the common wish of integration and affinity,” Xi called for “promoting inclusive coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations in Asia.”