China’s proposals in fighting Covid pandemic
Faced with the Covid-19 outbreak that caught the country by surprise, Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year addressed the Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit on the way forward in undertaking the formidable task of subduing the pandemic.
From day one in the fight against coronavirus, Xi said that China put the life and health of her people’s first, and acted according to the overall principle of shoring up confidence, strengthening unity, ensuring science-based control and treatment and imposing targeted measures.
The Chinese fought a people’s war against the outbreak by putting up a strenuous struggle and making tremendous sacrifices.
The situation in China has moved steadily in a positive direction, with life and work quickly returning to normal.
Yet, there is no way that the country can lower its guard or relax control.
“The situation is disturbing and unsettling. At such a moment, it is imperative for the international community to strengthen confidence, act with unity and work together in a collective response.
We must comprehensively step up international cooperation and foster greater synergy so that humanity as one could win the battle against such a major infectious disease,” Xi advised.
First, we need to be resolute in fighting an all-out global war against the Covid-19 outbreak.
The community of nations must move swiftly to stem the spread of the virus.
In this regard, countries should improve information sharing, strengthen cooperation on drugs, vaccines and epidemic control, and cut off cross-border infections.
Developing countries with weak public health systems should be supported to enhance preparedness and response.
This includes a Covid-19 assistance initiative for better information sharing and policy and action coordination with the support of the World Health Organisation.
Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has stated its willingness to share her good practices, conduct joint research and development of drugs and vaccines, and provide assistance to countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
Second, we should have a collective response for control and treatment at the international level.
It is imperative that countries pool their strengths and speed up research and development of drugs, vaccines and testing capabilities in order to achieve early breakthrough.
Discussions regarding the establishment of regional emergency liaison mechanisms to enable quicker response to public health emergencies ought to be initiated.
Third, we need to support international organisations in playing their active roles.
Various platforms for communication and coordination may be used to increase policy dialogue and exchange.
Fourth, we should enhance international macro-economic policy coordination.
The outbreak has disrupted production and demand across the globe. Countries need to leverage and coordinate their macro policies to counteract the negative impact and prevent the world economy from falling into recession.
We need to implement strong and effective fiscal and monetary policies to keep our exchange rates basically stable.
We further need to better coordinate financial regulation to keep global financial markets stable and jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains stable.
Now is a crucial moment, a time for the world to rise up to challenge and act with swiftness.
Through solidarity and mutual assistance, we can prevail over this outbreak and embrace a brighter future for all mankind.
— The writer is a communications expert and public policy analyst. [email protected]
