Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for the international community to champion the United Nations' (UN) and World Trade Organization (WTO)'s roles in resolving security, economic and trade issues.

In a phone call with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Wang said WTO is the key platform for global economic governance and the core of multilateral trading system, but it is now facing the challenge of unilateralism and protectionism.

With the G20 Riyadh Summit approaching, China thinks it is important for the summit to support multilateralism and strengthen policy coordination, sending a positive sign to the world about joint efforts in combating the pandemic and achieving world economic recovery.

He added that as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Saudi Arabia, China is willing to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and continue to support each other.

The Saudi Arabian foreign minister said the country is willing to advance bilateral relations to achieve more fruitful results, using the 30-year anniversary as a new starting point.

Together with China, Saudi Arabia is willing to support multilateralism and free trade, he added. 

In a separate phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Wang said China spoke highly of Egypt's role in safeguarding regional peace and security and stressed that the Libya issue should be resolved through political negotiation as led by the UN. China is willing to maintain communication with all related parties to facilitate ceasefire in Libya, he said.

Shoukry also called for a ceasefire in the region and advocated for a meeting by foreign ministers on the Libya situation to seek a comprehensive political solution.