Coronavirus and world responsibility

The novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has become a global concern. Chinese efforts in curbing the virus have widely been recognized. Even the World Health Organization has lauded the efforts of the Chinese government and advised the world to learn from China in fighting the disease.

To stop the outbreak, China has made extraordinary efforts. Wuhan has been completely quarantined along with other cities where the number of infected people was growing rapidly. Apart from this, the central government has mobilized all its resources, with teams of doctors and medical supplies being directly sent to the affected place in the shortest period of time. House-to-house temperature checks have been initiated. People were asked to report to the authorities immediately if they have any sign of fever, cough or pneumonia. To ensure a smooth supply of food and daily necessities, special arrangements were made. Were it not possible for the people to acquire daily necessities, the government had ensured that the masses would be provided food, clothing and shelter at the expense of the government. To meet with the sudden demand for hospitals in Wuhan city, two were built in less than two weeks, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, while makeshift hospitals were also established.

Due to such government efforts, the number of infected people and fatalities has been reduced significantly. Moreover, the Chinese government has decided to reopen schools but students will be given lessons online. For the factories and workers, the government has decided to bring workers in shifts and that will also depend on the conditions. Official meetings and other day-to-day work are being minimized and where necessary; officials are asked to avoid direct contact and instead hold online meetings. For trade and commerce, human contact is minimized and machines and robots are given tasks to perform duties. Thanks to such policies, we have seen a sharp decline in the spread of the virus and number of fatalities. The Chinese experience with fighting against virus has largely been successful and many countries have praised the efforts.

Despite this, a few countries still showed some hostile behavior toward China. The worse example of such hostility is that some nations refused to provide medical equipment, machines, technical staff and face masks. Above all were the comments of the US commerce secretary. He reportedly advised American companies to shift their manufacturing units out of China because China is dirty. Such remarks never suit a responsible statesman. Besides, there have been numerous reports in the media that Chinese people have been humiliated or harassed in different countries only because they are from China. Such behavior is inhuman and highly condemnable.

In contrast, some countries have provided all possible support to China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has appreciated Pakistan’s help to China in this difficult time. But regretfully, the USA, India and their allies are spreading baseless rumors to distort the truth and propagating conspiracy theories which have no scientific basis.

China is a responsible country and has played its due role during world crises. We should not forget the role of China during fight against the Ebola. It was Chinese scientists who were on the front lines. No matter if it was a global warming conference, an earthquake in Haiti, UN peacekeeping forces or hurricanes in Philippines and Indonesia, China was in the forefront. We know difficult times never remain the same. But this makes nations more resilient and united. All Chinese are together, telling the world that we are united and we will win the war against the coronavirus.

The writer is a professor and director of the BRI Research Center at Yancheng Institute of Technology, Jiangsu, China. 

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.