BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Tuesday that peace and development, cooperation and exchange remain the theme and trend of our time.

Li made the remarks when speaking at the Special Virtual Dialogue with Global Business Leaders hosted by the World Economic Forum, attended by more than 500 business leaders.

Li noted that despite the profound and complex changes in the international environment, peace and development are still the theme of our time, and exchange and cooperation remain the trend of the world.

"Without a peaceful and stable environment, nothing would be possible," he said, adding that the international system and order centered on the UN must be safeguarded.

All parties are duty-bound to preserve the global environment for peace and development, support multilateralism, uphold the international order, and bring hope and confidence to people across the world, he said.

Noting that COVID-19 has compounded the difficulties faced by the world economy, Li said international trade came under the first wave of impact and the industrial and supply chains became disrupted.

"Against such a backdrop, it would be neither wise nor practical to go after technological or industrial decoupling, " he said.

"We need to jointly uphold trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, expeditiously restore the global industrial and supply chains and people-to-people exchanges to reinvigorate the world economy," the premier said.

Saying that the Chinese economy has been deeply integrated into the global economy, Li stressed that China cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world, and the world needs China for further development.

"No matter how the external environment may evolve, China will only open wider to the world; China will move forward, not backward, in all areas of opening-up," Li said.