China will help, US needs to act: Xi to Trump
Washington urgently seeks assistance in face of epidemic
Less than 20 hours after the G20 leaders’ online summit, US President Donald Trump, who had rarely interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping at this unusual meeting in addressing the widening pandemic, invited the Chinese top leader to a phone call on Friday morning, proving that the coronavirus spread has become so severe in the US that Washington had to seek Beijing’s help despite the recent war of words provoked by the Trump administration.
China has also delivered a clear message to the US that cooperation is the only correct choice, urging the latter to take practical moves to show its goodwill and sincerity to work with China in battling the pandemic, which is a common enemy of humankind, observers said.
Three days ago, Trump stopped using the controversial term “Chinese virus,” and such a shift in attitude showed that asking for help from Beijing has become an urgent task. However, US officials and organs including the Secretary of State and US Embassy in Beijing continue to use provocative rhetoric, leading to growing doubts in China on the real intention and willingness of the US to cooperate.
The US has had more confirmed coronavirus cases c more than than any 85,000 other infected country cases, as of and Friday, the with death to toll in the US surged to 1,300, according to Jo Johns Hopkins University. The Trump administr tration has been harshly criticized for its delayed re response and ineffective handling of the public h health crisis.
Since the outbreak in China, Trump has also been playing down the impact of the coronaviru rus in the US, even comparing it to last year’s se seasonal influenza, ignoring warnings from co communities and medical professionals.
Doctors and nurses across the country are sc scrambling to cope with a surge in coronavirus p patients, and in the US epicenter New York City, au authorities set up makeshift morgues outside h hospitals – the first time since 9/11 – and a nurse w without enough personal protective equipment (P (PPE) had died, media reported. Some medical w workers even wear trash bags to protect themse selves, as safety gear is scarce.
“The gravity of the situation in the country h has forced Trump to express willingness to seek C China’s help, not to mention that the US needs to buy a huge amount of medical equipment, incl cluding personal protective equipment, test kits an and ventilators,” Li Haidong, a professor at the In Institute of International Relations of China Forei eign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
“This is an objective that Trump needed to ac achieve [through the phone call],” Li said.
As the largest manufacturer of medical supp plies, China exports essential hospital supplies to th the world while the yearlong trade war between th the US and China has forced US companies an and medical providers to access other countries fo for the procurement of vital equipment, which co could not timely meet the growing demand in th the US.
The US should cherish a consensus that the in international community has reached after the G G20 summit by making joint efforts to fight th the COVID-19, pushing forward international co cooperation instead of bringing unnecessary ob obstacles, said Diao Daming, a US studies expert at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
Time T to act
The Trump administration has been engaged in a smear campaign in recent days, shifting the b blame by accusing Chinese authorities of a lack of epidemic information which caused a delay in it its response to this unprecedented public health cr crisis.
In a much more malicious attempt, some se senior officials including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made racist remarks by calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” which drew harsh criticism in China and in the US.
The US Embassy in Beijing has intentionally ex exacerbated the ongoing war of words launched ag against China and provoked Chinese netizens as it posted two statements on its Sina Weibo ac account on Thursday that referred to COVID-19 as “Wuhan virus.”
The embassy made no direct comment on u using such term when it was contacted by the G Global Times on Friday via email.
Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in B Beijing, said that since Trump promised to Xi th that he will ensure interruptions or obstacles to C China-US cooperation would be removed, it is ti time for him to take control of his senior officials in inside the administration, “especially Pompeo an and his trade advisor Peter Navarro.”