Solidarity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon for the world to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning.

Xi said the pandemic proves that humanity lives in a community with a shared future. "There is no higher priority than people's lives."

Noting that politicizing disease does no good but only harm, Xi said, "Response to any major disease must be based on science."

He said it is also imperative that the world close the vaccination gap between developed and developing countries.

Xi proposed a Global Vaccine Cooperation Action Initiative last month. He has been advocating for COVID-19 vaccines to become a global public good since the early stages of the pandemic, and consistent with his commitment, China has provided over 1.7 billion COVID-19 doses of finished and bulk vaccines to countries in need.

"We will consider making additional donations in light of the needs of developing countries," he said.

"COVID-19 will not be the last public health crisis facing humanity," Xi said. 

"China and the U.S. need to call for the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for global public health and communicable disease prevention and control, and promote further international exchanges and cooperation."