Defeating the COVID-19 outbreak: Part - II

The Chinese people have put up a tenacious fight against the outbreak. Such extraordinary efforts have resulted in a growing positive momentum in epidemic control across the country. In the course of this fight, China has followed its vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, lived up to its responsibility as a major country, and made a substantial contribution to global public health.

China has demonstrated its sense of responsibility by curbing the global spread of the virus. Standing at the forefront of the fight, China has fulfilled its responsibility for global public health as well as for its own people. It has taken the most decisive and thorough measures to contain the spread of the virus beyond its borders. Chinese medical workers and researchers have raced against time to improve diagnostic and therapeutic solutions in an effort to raise the cure rate and lower the case fatality rate. With its quick response, China has bought precious time for the international community to enhance preparedness; with its forceful response, China has served as a strong line of defense against the spread of the epidemic.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described China’s sacrifice in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus as a great contribution to all mankind. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that China’s forceful actions have limited the spread of the virus both domestically and beyond its borders. China is protecting not only its own people, but also the rest of the world.

China has earned trust for promoting a joint response to this global challenge. Since the epidemic broke out, China has placed great importance on international health cooperation. It has provided timely updates on the epidemic in a spirit of openness and transparency, shared the genetic sequencing of the virus, worked closely with the World Health Organization, neighboring countries and other countries concerned, and invited international experts to join this fight.

Committed to protecting the health of foreign nationals in China, we have worked in coordination with foreign missions to offer the latest information and consular assistance to the expatriate communities, who are united by trust, empathy and solidarity with China. China’s concrete actions have won itself wide endorsement and appreciation from the world and demonstrated its firm commitment to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

President of the 74th UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande commended China’s exemplary leadership and transparency in fighting the epidemic. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed that the whole world appreciates and commends China for its response and that no other country could have done better than China. A prestigious international journal pointed out that China has paved the way for the international scientific community to join the fight against the virus and laid the foundation for the mobilization of global scientific and research collaboration.

It is widely agreed by the international community that the Chinese people have contributed significantly to curbing the outbreak and that China’s epidemic response is made not only out of a great sense of responsibility for the life and health of its own people but also as a strong support for the global fight against the disease.

China has set a high standard for improving global public health governance. This outbreak is a major test for China’s governance system and capacity, and for the global governance system and capacity. China’s signature strength, efficiency and speed in this fight has been widely acclaimed, and the institutional advantage of China’s governance is for all to see. Under the unified command, coordination and direction of the Party Central Committee, an inter-agency task force was set up immediately after the outbreak; first-level public health emergency response was activated in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities; and tens of thousands of medical workers and massive amounts of medical supplies and daily necessities were rapidly delivered to Hubei from across the country. These are vivid examples of the institutional strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics in pooling resources for major undertakings.

The international community shares the view that the speed, intensity and scope of China’s epidemic response is rarely seen in the world, that the leadership, response, mobilization and implementation capabilities China has demonstrated are exemplary for the rest of the world, and that China has gathered valuable experience for the international community in handling emergencies caused by infectious diseases and advancing global public health governance.

To be continued

The writer is the state councilor and foreign minister of China. The article was first published in China’s Qiushi Magazine on 2 March, 2020.