Aerial photo shows a China-Europe freight train, also the "China Post" CR Express 1st block train, running under a bridge in Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, April 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

China will work with its partners to develop the Belt and Road into a model of cooperation for meeting challenges through unity, President Xi Jinping said Thursday in a written message to the High-level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation.

The Belt and Road will also be a model of health for protecting people's safety and well-being, a model of recovery for restoring economic and social activity, and a model of growth for unlocking development potential, Xi said.

The video conference is "a highly important meeting that gives Belt and Road cooperation partners an opportunity to discuss a collective response to COVID-19, advance Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthen international solidarity and cooperation," said Xi.

He said that the sudden attack of COVID-19 has posed a grave threat to the lives and health of people across the globe. It has dealt a heavy blow to the world economy, and caused tough economic and social challenges for some countries, developing ones in particular.

"To contain the virus, countries have taken robust and effective measures, specific to their national context. On top of that, many countries are striving to resume economic and social development," Xi said, noting that in China's case, the people's lives and well-being have always been put front and center.

A China-Europe freight train bound for Madrid of Spain, which carries two containers of medical supplies as well as other goods, departs the city of Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 21, 2020. (Photo by Gong Xianming/Xinhua)

China will do what it can and contribute its share to an early global victory against COVID-19, and the recovery of the global economy, the president said.

"Be it in taming the virus or in achieving economic recovery, we cannot succeed without solidarity, cooperation, and multilateralism. The right approach to tackling global crises and realizing long-term development is through greater connectivity, openness, and inclusiveness," he said.

"This is where Belt and Road international cooperation can make a big difference," he said, adding that China is committed to peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Foreign ministers or officials at ministerial level from 25 countries attended the video conference. Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner also participated in the event.