As the fight against the emergency of coronavirus draws to a close, China must carry on to fulfill other important tasks this year as planned.
The convening of the G20 emergency summit is a right and urgent step in increasing global coordination and stabilizing economic confidence on the fight against COVID-19. At present, the virus has spread to more than 150 countries, and nearly 500,000 people have been infected worldwide, with the number of confirmed cases and death still rising rapidly.
US President Donald Trump has launched xenophobic attacks on China over COVID-19 with only one purpose – to attempt to divert attention from his failure to prepare the US for the inevitable spread of the coronavirus. But this anti-China rhetoric will have serious consequences for the American people, leading to many lost lives. Trump’s attack on China is a futile attempt to head off what will be the inevitable verdict of history on a disaster for the American people. If continued, it will cost many American lives.
The Trump administration's policies remain more focused on saving the stock market than people's lives. If the number of infected cases continues to increase and the death toll keeps rising, it won't matter how much money the government injects, and investors' confidence in the US stock market will not return. Even a child can understand this.
Anyone who has watched Trump's daily briefings with the White House coronavirus task force he set up, can clearly see that the U.S. views this more and more as a zero-sum game with China, which through diligent efforts and the nation coming together, had succeeded in getting to a point where there are no, or very few, new incidents of the virus.
As China battles the novel coronavirus, its model of central leadership and regional partnerships has functioned well. Since the start of the outbreak, President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has acted as commander-in-chief in the people's war on the epidemic.
Some US politicians attempting to politicize the novel coronavirus have come under fire as officials, scientists and experts on international relations warned that such stigmatization would undermine international solidarity in containing the pandemic.The warning came after some senior US officials connected the virus with China. They include US President Donald Trump, who described the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" on social media and a White House media briefing, although Director Robert Redfield of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said using the word Chinese as a way to describe the coronavirus is wrong.
The pandemic has had a strong impact on the Southeast Asian economy and around the world. The main export destination for China and Southeast Asian products is the US and European markets. As China has been gradually resuming economic activities, its consumption needs will help the recovery of the Southeast Asia industrial sector. For instance, China can purchase Southeast Asian products as supplements to imports from other parts of the world.
With the COVID-19 spreading fast in the U.S., the Trump administration has declared a national emergency. Analysts in China have been closely following its economic and political impact on the U.S. and also the virus has turned into an important factor shaping the U.S.-China relationship in the near future.
I never imagined the scenario I described in my previous column "Virus fight offers cooperation opportunities" has become a reality so quickly. As the pandemic strikes the US, I sincerely hope Americans can keep safe, and the US government can attach the utmost importance to the outbreak. I now call on the entire world to unite.
Through tremendous sacrifices China has brought the coronavirus under control – the number of new daily cases being reduced from the peak of 3,887 on February 5 to 11 on March 13 (7 imported from outside China), a decline of 98.2 percent. In doing so, the Chinese authorities performed an enormous service not only to the Chinese people but also gave a crucial opportunity to the whole rest of the world to prepare.
Pakistan’s future is and will be dependent on export-led growth.The development of 10 special economic zones (SEZs) is vital to improve the capacity of the Pakistan export. SEZs are open for business people from all countries, as incentives under SEZs are the same for every investor. The investments in various sectors had started pouring in and the pace would pick up in the near future if Pakistani security situation would remain stable. The second phase of CPEC is about industrial and agricultural cooperation, so speed up SEZS is a must.
The Great Panic of 2020 is not the same as the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 (GFC) although some of the Great Panic collateral impacts will be similar. Governments are responding to the Great Panic as if it were a repeat of the GFC and these responses are most likely to be ineffective and may be more economically damaging than expected by supporting perverse outcomes.
We all face the same challenge. The fight and hopefully upcoming triumph over novel coronavirus pneumonia is a common topic in our conversations, our thoughts and our prayers. Both China and Israel are ancient civilizations, which have endured a lot through their long histories. However, as our past teaches us and as the saying goes, "If your mind is strong, all difficult things will become easy…" – the alternative is unacceptable!
However things develop, it is already clear that there can be no simple return to the status quo ante. Too much has already been revealed about the fragile nature of our health system and the fragile nature of our economic system based on the vagaries of that "bubble market" known as Wall Street. There will have to be a new order of things in the United States, one geared to the people's livelihood rather than the Dow Jones average. Coming out of such a major crisis, the American people will accept no less.
After the epidemic broke out in China, many countries and international organizations had expressed their support and provided substantial assistance. However, some Western media have looked on at China's misfortune with indifference and even taken pleasure in it. These infamous media outlets, however, instead of practicing "humanitarianism," which they always advocate, and offering a helping hand, scolded China with harsh words and little sympathy.
The virus is spreading worldwide. The number of new international confirmed cases per day has surpassed China at least 10 times. At this stage, the world needs unity. The US, as the world's most powerful country, should have called on other nations to help combat what has become a common enemy, just as they did during World War II. Unfortunately, they have made no such efforts. After observing the words and deeds of the US administration and other elites, I realized their accusations against China were aimed to divert attention, conceal inaction, and dodge long-standing flaws in US foreign policy.
Europe, after seeing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, faces a dilemma of containing the virus spread with strict measures while preventing an economic crisis as the region is on the edge of recession. The reluctance and hesitation of some European officials make a definitive and aggressive approach against the disease "hard to apply in the bloc," analysts said.
Last year, the Indian Navy blatantly expelled a Chinese scientific research vessel on the high seas near the Andaman Islands, and this year India created an excuse to seize the Da Cui Yun vessel. The Da Cui Yun incident has revealed the arrogance of the Indian government and its governing Hindu nationalists. To consolidate its supremacy in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, India not only has resorted to every means to discredit, isolate and crack down on Pakistan, but also has been trying to act as a "police officer" in the Indian Ocean.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China has attracted unprecedented global attention because of the mounting worries regarding the unknown global challenges for humankind. It was very not very clear at the very beginning of the outbreak whether this unknown virus would be controllable due to the lack of information about the nature of the virus.