Meeting of top China, US health experts ‘ aids cooperation’
A virtual meeting between the top epidemiologists of China and the US, Zhong Nanshan and Anthony Fauci, aims to kick off official cooperation on fighting the pandemic, a move hailed by experts as a warming sign amid frozen ties.
Speaking in an interview on Sunday, Zhong, China’s top respiratory disease expert, said that he will talk with Fauci, now US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser on COVID- 19, in March.
Zhong, 84, said that he looks forward to the dialogue with Fauci, adding that they share some similar views. Zhong has been called the “Dr. Fauci of China” by some Western media due to their similar roles in leading the battle against the epidemic in
China and the US.
The Chinese epidemiologist also acknowledged the move by Biden to make the anti- epidemic campaign a top priority for the US, and hoped the easing policies to be launched by the government could ensure people’s livelihoods while also effectively controlling the epidemic.
The Global Times learned from Zhong’s team that he will meet Fauci at an event jointly held by the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Futures Institute in the UK on March 2, where the two experts will speak at the opening session.
Zhong said that the easing of the epidemic in the US will have a positive impact on the country, the world and China- US relations, especially for exchanges between scholars.
The meeting was hailed by Li
Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, as a move to kick off bilateral cooperation on fighting against COVID- 19.
“The two experts provide scientific advice to their respective governments. Positive feedback will help open the door for conversation between people at the policy decisionmaking level,” said Li. He added that vaccines will also feature on the agenda of the conversation in March.
“Countries all over the world have a different pace of vaccination. The two are also likely to talk about speeding up the global vaccination drive. No one can welcome a full comeback from the pandemic if there are still countries battling the virus.”
The expert also said that it is part of the Biden government’s goodwill in terms of containing the virus.