Cooperation with and Aid from
the International Community
At the meeting on February 23 to coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, Xi Jinping noted that public health security is a common challenge that faces all of humanity, and all countries need to join hands to deal with it.
After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Xi Jinping met with visiting WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga. He also communicated on the phone with the leaders of France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Chile and Cuba. Xi expressed appreciation for their support and aid, explained the progress China had made in combating the virus, expressed his confidence in future developments, and exchanged views with these leaders on promoting international cooperation and advancing bilateral ties.
By the end of February, more than 170 state leaders and over 40 heads of international and regional organizations had sent written or oral messages, or issued statements to express sympathy and support for China. International organizations including the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS, ASEAN, the AU, the League of Arab States, the Latin American Community, and the Group of 77 had expressed their confidence in and support for China’s action against the virus. Many influential politicians around the world had publicly voiced encouragement and support to Wuhan and China, while more than 50 countries and international organizations had made donations and provided solid assistance.
The international community gave China valuable spiritual support and material assistance, building a broad consensus on facing difficulties and fighting epidemic together. And friendship between foreign peoples and the Chinese was strengthened in the battle against COVID-19.
During the battle against the epidemic, China won universal recognition and praise for its rapid and decisive actions. It fulfilled its commitment to building a global community of shared future, performed like a responsible major country, and made a significant contribution to global public health. The international community has widely recognized China’s determined and effective prevention and control measures and been impressed by its extraordinary abilities in leading and mobilizing the Chinese people to respond to the outbreak, which has set a good example for handling the global epidemic. Its experience in dealing with infectious disease and promoting global governance of public health provides an important reference for the international community.
While fighting the epidemic, China has actively and voluntarily cooperated with and shared information with the WHO and the international community, swiftly shared the genome sequence of some strains, and successfully developed rapid-testing kits. These moves indicate that China takes responsibility for the life and health of Chinese people, and also provides major benefits to global epidemic prevention and control. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that China has made great sacrifices in the fight to control the epidemic and prevent the virus from spreading to others, and has made a great contribution to humanity. Some authoritative professional international journals point out that China has paved the way for the international scientific community to join the fight against epidemic and laid the foundations for global cooperation in scientific research.
To prevail over a disease that threatens all, unity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon. In the face of the epidemic, improving global governance on major infectious diseases and promoting international ordination is the high priority. Only when every country assumes its moral responsibility can we finally win victory in the global battle against the epidemic.