Writing in The Economist, Fu Ying, China's former vice-minister of foreign affairs, argues that to beat the pandemic, the international community needs China and America to co-ordinate
THE TRADITIONAL Chinese festival of Qingming, or tomb-sweeping, on April 4th, is a day to remember loved ones who have passed. This year Chinese across the country mourned lives lost to the covid-19 pandemic. Immersed in sadness, we cherish the memories of those who will not see this or any other spring—and we reflect on what can be learned from the tragedies.security crisis in the 21st century that has refocused the world’s agenda.
On February 13th when the crisis in Wuhan was at its peak, I attended the Munich Security Conference with a team of Chinese scholars. I brought along a public-health expert to brief attendees on China’s struggles to contain the outbreak. Experts from the World Health Organisation were there too, to alert the world to the dangers of the epidemic. American officials and lawmakers at the conference paid little attention to this issue or the information that China had to offer.
However, such professional and scientific information seems unimportant to some American politicians. What matters to them is their strategic rivalry with China, rather than co-operation, for fear that American dominance might be lost to China. If China and America can’t co-operate even in the face of this global disaster, if they cannot eventually resolve their differences within the existing international structure, we have to consider what this means for the current global system.
Countries have different national conditions and each finds its best way of dealing with the crisis. China cannot and will not impose its ways upon others, nor seek geopolitical gain. Yet it must lend a hand to those in trouble and in need. We are all in this together. The world is entering an era of unprecedented interdependence. China has grown through peaceful development. It is neither the former Soviet Union, nor intent on becoming the next America. The Chinese aspire to a peaceful and co-operative international environment and are willing to work for it. The pandemic will be beaten only when every country is free of its threat.
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