It's time for nations to combat COVID-19 together

Wars, both literal and metaphorical, are costly and tragic. An aggressor can attack by surprise, quickly overwhelming your own forces and making a series of early gains.

Sometimes aggressors, despite early gains, end up losing their conflicts, with their opponents emerging stronger.

China is not fighting a conventional war, but a pathological one against COVID-19, as well as a narrative-focused one against some Western media. The virus made sharp initial gains in Wuhan and the whole of Hubei province, which proved costly.

The Western media induced an all-embracing narrative and offensive against China's political system to highlight what they argued was a failure of its governance. Those media outlets apparently believed in the early stages that China's containment efforts would fail.

As the virus gained traction in Hubei in late January, scores of Western newspapers preached the virtues of liberal systems in preventing outbreaks, while arguing that this was evidence that China was an unreliable destination to do business.

The US commerce secretary quickly proclaimed this was good for jobs in the United States, while other politicians in Washington lined up to taunt China.

The situation at the time, of course, seemed severe, with the country's economy on an effective lockdown, workers stuck at home and a grueling fight ahead to contain it. This was the early offensive by the opponent that made gains.

As March emerged, the situation changed. The number of new cases in China, including Hubei, started to decline rapidly. New outbreaks of the virus started to emerge all across the West, with the origins in some cases not known to be linked to travel.

An outbreak began in Northern Italy, soon followed by Germany, France, Spain and the US. Washington's own response to the virus has been particularly incompetent, with the government failing to produce an adequate number of test kits and checks to keep pace with a rapidly spreading disease.

The obsession with attacking China clouded the judgment of policymakers who refused to give Beijing's approach merit and thus let their own guard down.

Locking down Hubei successfully prevented a greater nationwide spread, while the rapid pace of testing by the Chinese government and strident steps to identify cases quickly sapped the momentum of COVID-19.

When President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on Tuesday, his presence heralded a symbolic turning point that China had, in a rapid space of time, overcome the worst.

China now emerges from the coronavirus outbreak in a position of strength. The narrative has changed. The Western media were critical, yet the Western public can see quite clearly what Beijing has accomplished with some resilience.

An elderly gentleman I met in Sunderland in the United Kingdom last week praised China's efforts and wished Britain's government could be as vigilant.

Undoubtedly, China is now in a position to help others as they struggle. For example, it has donated masks and supplies to Iran and Italy, Japan and South Korea.

Despite making an argument that the virus was an opportunity to be "less dependent on China", the world now needs to be "more dependent on China"－as Beijing's economy will be crucial to helping the West escape from spooked markets and crashing interest rates.

As a whole, the opening segment of a war never truly determines its final conclusion. China has emerged from a position of weakness in its fight against the COVID-19 to a position of strength.

The Western media and politicians jumped at the opportunity to attack Beijing, but grossly miscalculated the implications for themselves. It is time to acknowledge China's success and work together in combating this pandemic.