Joining hands to fight COVID-19 pandemic is vivid interpretation of building community with shared future for mankind (Part III)

By Jun Sheng

China will make its COVID-19 vaccine a global public good when it is ready for application after successful research and clinical trials. . This will be China’s contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, said President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 73rd World Health Assembly video conference on May 18.

The Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 was held in the form of a video conference on June 17. President Xi presided over the meeting in Beijing and pointed out in his keynote speech that China will start construction of the headquarters of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in advance of this year. China will work with Africa to fully deliver the health care initiative adopted at the FOCAC Beijing Summit and speed up the construction of China-Africa Friendship Hospitals and the cooperation between paired-up Chinese and African hospitals. Together, we will build a China-Africa community of health for all. We pledge that once the development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine is completed in China, African countries will be among the first to benefit, said Xi.

To govern is to carry out what one teaches. China's measures to combat the pandemic focus on the current and future key and painful points of global anti-pandemic, and demonstrate the responsibility for people's lives and health and for global public health. Such a "China Commitment" is undoubtedly another vivid portrayal of China's adherence to the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. As Philippe D. Monnier, a Swiss expert on China studies, put it, this will benefit developing countries and is a huge contribution to mankind.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, the global economy has seen a deep recession; economic globalization has encountered a countercurrent; protectionism and unilateralism have prevailed in some countries; and, geopolitical risks have risen. Some people pessimistically say that "there is neither the past nor the future."

At such a defining dark moment, China confronts various risks and challenges, stands firmly with the international community, and jointly adds certainty to the uncertain world.

"Resolutely fight the global anti-pandemic prevention and control war,""Effectively develop international joint prevention and controlmechanisms"... The cooperative initiatives put forward based on China's practice gather together the majestic forces of the fight against COVID-19.

International anti-pandemic is at a critical stage. "Support for WHO means supporting international anti-pandemic cooperation and saving lives"... China clearly supports the WHO and multilateralism and injects firm confidence in the international community's unity against the pandemic.

China spared no effort to produce medical supplies and equipment that are in need of, organized special video conferences of health experts, and dispatched medical expert teams to countries who are in urgent need of help... China's positive action to help the world is like sunshine dispersing the haze of the pandemic.

China has strengthened international macroeconomic policy coordination, coordinated the advancement of pandemic prevention and control and economic and social development, adhered to openness and inclusiveness, and enhancedglobal governance... China is the first to restart the economy, which not only provides valuable experience for the world but also lays an important foundation for the opening of the global economy.

It is always necessary to make concerted efforts. There is no absolute safe haven in the world, and no country can stay immune from the common enemy of humankind.

Throughout history, whether it is the Black Death that claimed the lives of countless Europeans, the Spanish flu that has caused painful lessons, or the AIDS that is still spreading globally...They told the international community at a high price that multilateral cooperation should be used to respond to global public health threats and defeat pandemics related to the safety of humankind.

It is the shared responsibility of the international community to add certainty to an uncertain world. However, things are not always satisfactory. On the one hand, people from all over the world transcended geographical, ethnic, cultural, and historical boundaries, and helped each other to consolidate the powerful anti-pandemic joint force of "everybody adds fuel, the flames rise high", and saved countless lives. One the other hand, a small number of American politicians have become addicted to breaking contracts and withdrawing from treaties. They first stopped to pay WHO's membership dues, and then announced the termination of relations with WHO. They have repeatedly used unilateralism and hegemony to destroy the global anti-pandemic fight.

The virus knows no borders, and it is impossible to defeat it alone. At present, the cumulative number of confirmed and deathcases in the US ranks first in the world. Such a bitter reality is telling certain US politicians: blindly bullying, exerting pressure, and deliberately breaking international rules will only hurt people and themselves. At the same time, the US's "unwise" and "bad decisions" have also made the world more deeply aware that unilateralism and individualism have no way out. Strengthening multilateral cooperation in joint prevention and control and vaccine research and development is the right way.

The going is difficult when doing it alone; the going becomes easier when doing it with many others.Touching stories and moving pictures will surely remain in people's memories in the anti-pandemic fight of various countries in the world in the past few months.This excellent practice of joining hands against the pandemic and building a community with a shared future for mankindis also sure to be remembered by history.