Experts hail Beijing’s strategy to fight virus
Containing the spread of the novel coronavirus and finding ways to treat it call for international collaboration and cooperation, and China has contributed its mite, global analysts said.
Koh King Kee, the president of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia, an Asian think tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said that instead of indulging in a blame game, world leaders should set aside ideology and geopolitics to work jointly to fight the pandemic, as the virus recognizes no borders and attacks human beings regardless of ethnicity, religion, and location.
“The virus is the common enemy of mankind. In an interconnected world, no country is an island. Humankind shares a common destiny.” he said.
He said that China had responded with immediate mobilization of its state resources and its people since the novel coronavirus outbreak began, and the Chinese fought with their “blood, toil, sweat and tears” to combat the spread of the virus.
“China sacrificed the economy of Hubei province to buy time for the world to be better prepared for the virus. As the mobility of the country’s entire population of 1.4 billion people was restricted, its economic activities literally ground to a halt for weeks,” he said.
China provided assistance to more than 120 countries, and four international organizations to battle the outbreak and is planning further support.
Carlos Velez, president of the China-Spain Business Association, who lives in Spain, the second worst-hit country in Europe, said that China’s knowledge of the disease would help others.
“Spain appreciates China’s support and help with material and medical experts in the fight against the disease,” he said. “China has set an example of how to resolve this global nightmare.”
Efforts recognized
Branislav Djordjevic, the director of the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade, said that at a moment when the world is facing an unimaginable threat, which will have long-lasting negative effects, China’s efforts are winning admiration.
“Though it was hit by COVID-19, and still is trying to normalize everyday life, China is not only willing to help other countries by sharing its experience and advising governments and medical experts, but also providing necessary medical supplies,” he said.
“China is being responsible, and aware of a shared future for mankind.”
Hisham AbuBakr Metwally, an economics researcher with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, said that since the beginning of the novel coronavirus outbreak, China had protected the world by issuing rapid warnings, sharing information, and imposing a quarantine in Wuhan.
And after the epidemic situation in China calmed down, China rushed to help other countries, showcasing its kindness and sense of responsibility, he said.
Fraser Cameron, the director of the EU-Asia Centre, a Brusselsbased think tank, said that given the gravity of the global pandemic, it was time to stop blaming countries or individuals and concentrate on cooperation and finding solutions.
He said that China is now one of the major providers of medical kits and experts, and that there should be an urgent increase in funding for the World Health Organization, and an international investigation of the origins of the pandemic once it had subsided.
Alexander Semyonov, deputy director of the Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institution of Epidemiology and Microbiology, said that in the fight against the coronavirus, the most precious experience is not only that of Chinese epidemiologists and medical personnel, but the great mobilization ability of the country and its people when facing such a situation.
Semyonov said China was closely working with the medical profession globally on a coronavirus vaccine, and sharing information.