Yale scholar appeals to collaboration between US, China in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic

HONG KONG It’s not an easy task for any single country to handle the COVID19 on its own, therefore it’s time for the United States and China to collaborate and deal with the pandemic together, a Yale scholar said at an online seminar on Wednesday.

At the Insight Forum, an online seminar organized by Our Hong Kong Foundation, Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, said while responding to Xinhua that dealing with the pandemic is an opportunity for collaboration, and he believes that there is enormous potential for collaborative work between the United States and China. “Pandemic by definition is global, which involves all major countries in the world,” Roach said, stressing that the United States and China can engage jointly in developing therapies and research on vaccines.

He praised China for having done a remarkable job in containing the disease, saying that although the United States is not able to replicate the practices put in the place in China, it can learn scientific methods applied by China. In his speech at the seminar, Roach also criticized some US politicians who blamed China for the pandemic saying that China was the first to be hit by this severe disease and also the first to respond. The pandemic has shocked the world and caused a global recession, Roach said, noting that the US dollar is estimated to see a 35 percent decline in its value against other major currencies by the end of 2021, while euro and Chinese currency renminbi will grow stronger.

Regarding global supply chains, Roach said the global scramble for medical supplies during the outbreak of the pandemic has raised concerns among countries about supply chain security. He said that bringing supply chains back home will lead to higher costs for both producers and consumers, and supply chains should be made more flexible to deal with future supply shocks.

(Xinhua)