Wuhan’s rebirth sparks hope for post-pandemic global recovery
IT has been a year since China ended a 76-day lockdown in Wuhan, a central Chinese city that was once the epicenter of the country’s coronavirus outbreak. With China’s successful handling of the ravaging pathogen at home and antipandemic cooperation with other parts of the world, Wuhan, a city that has fought and won an epic battle against the pandemic, has been rid of the throes of the deadly disease and reborn as a dynamic city.
The past year has witnessed a rebirth of the city. Wuhan’s comeback now embodies a spirit of steadfastness, resilience and courage in the face of an unprecedented global health crisis, and beams rays of hope that other pandemic-hit regions worldwide can also walk out of coronavirus shadows and achieve effective recovery.
Of course, life will never be the same after what Wuhan and the rest of China have been through over the year. Some changes, like vigilance against the pandemic, will stay on.
The city has not let its guard down after riding out the storm. Social distancing and mask-wearing have remained a part of everyday life for residents. Those preventative measures has undergirded the city’s uplifting economic recovery.
In May, Wuhan’s trade with the European Union, the United States, and countries along the Belt and Road all scored positive growth. For the past year, it attracted a total investment of more than 930 billion yuan (US$142 billion), up 6.7 percent year on year.
The pandemic has also created a boom of fresh opportunities in emerging industries. Digital trade fairs and working from home have become increasingly popular. Digital economy has contributed to approximately 40 percent of Wuhan’s regional gross domestic product, according to recent official data.
Wuhan’s rebirth has also been made possible by the ardent support of many countries to China in its most challenging hours. Medical supplies from regions including Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as encouragement from people of different nationalities and races have indeed attested that humanity will be stronger if standing in solidarity.
The anti-epidemic victory in Wuhan also has global significance. As soon as China largely controlled the pandemic at home, it began to make unremitting contribution to the global battle.
In addition to sharing effective antivirus measures and treatment of the disease with countries in need, it has been developing and producing COVID19 vaccines and providing them to the global community to save lives. Notably, many medical experts from Wuhan are among those who made the achievements possible.
Stronger global cooperation is still needed as some countries have recently re-imposed lockdown measures amid surging cases, while the world is craving a fair and efficient distribution of vaccines to inoculate as many people as possible.
Such cooperation should also be promoted in the pathogen’s origin tracing and the establishment of a global approach for pandemic preparedness and response. The joint research of COVID-19 origins by the World Health Organization and China in Wuhan earlier this year has played a positive role in promoting global cooperation, and similar researches should be continued in other parts of the world.