BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on countries around the world to work together to tackle global governance challenges.

Xi made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.

Xi likened countries around the world to "passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny," noting that "for the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together."

"The thought of throwing anyone overboard is simply not acceptable," Xi said.

In this day and age, the international community has evolved so much that it has become a sophisticated and integrated apparatus. Acts to remove any single part will cause serious problems to its operation, said Xi.

"When that happens, both the victims and the initiators of such acts will stand to lose," he said.

In today's world, unilateralism and excessive pursuit of self-interest are doomed to fail, so are the practices of decoupling, supply disruption and maximum pressure, and so are the attempts to forge "small circles" or to stoke conflict and confrontation along ideological lines, according to Xi.

He called for embracing a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promoting the common values of humanity, and advocating exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.

"We need to uphold true multilateralism, and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law," he said.

It is particularly important for major countries to lead by example in honoring equality, cooperation, good faith and the rule of law, and act in a way befitting their status, Xi noted.