Actions required that suit the words

As the novel coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world, it has magnified the tensions between China and the United States, with some US politicians and media jumping on it as an opportunity to hurl more unfounded accusations and criticism at China.

Which is why the more upbeat tone of Wednesday’s telephone conversation between Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came as a welcome change.

While reiterating China’s willingness to continue sharing information and experience on epidemic prevention and control with the US side, Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, stressed it is crucial to properly handle China-US relations amid this global battle against the novel coronavirus pandemic and maintain a healthy and steady development of bilateral ties.

Pompeo, on his part, said that the US is ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen cooperation in battling the outbreak and continue communication and coordination on the development of US-China relations.

Although it is still too early to say Beijing and Washington have put their quarrels behind them, such positive remarks suggest a shared commitment and political will to strengthen their cooperation in this time of crisis.

An impression reinforced by US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad on the same day, when he said that he was hopeful that “there will be a better relationship going forward” because of the collaboration and work on fighting the virus and the phase one of the trade agreement, which the two countries are implementing to the best of their abilities at this challenging time.

That hope is also one shared around the world, as the coronavirus has put more and more countries in survival mode. It is clear that the world needs cooperation, not bickering, between Beijing and Washington. Other countries are looking to China and the US, as the world’s two largest economies, to rally the international community to common cause.

It is hoped that US politicians, who have done so much of late to poison the atmosphere for global cooperation, will now translate the stated willingness to boost bilateral cooperation into action and work with China, and the rest of the world, to bring the pandemic under control and mitigate its effects on the global economy.

Any selfish political calculation at this moment will not only be shortsighted but also run the risk of squandering what has been achieved so far.