Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, June 6  -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for "China-France contributions" to winning the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

China and France need to continuously support the international community joining hands against the pandemic, Xi said in a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Xi stressed that China and France have maintained high-level strategic coordination since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Noting that the spread of the coronavirus has not been effectively contained globally, Xi said that solidarity and cooperation are the right way forward.

The two countries, he added, should promote joint research, support international cooperation in vaccine and drug research and development, step up efforts to implement the consensus reached at the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA), and enhance support for the World Health Organization (WHO).