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With COVID-19 spreading across the world and threatening to trigger another global recession, it is high time that the United States joined hands with China in good faith to help protect the health of both the human race and the global economy.
In recent weeks, certain U.S. politicians have been exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to smear and stigmatize China. Their racist, biased and xenophobic campaigns have gone against the facts, fooling no sober minds around the world, but instead leaving the relationship between these two major countries visibly strained.
Fortunately, an encouraging signal emerged Friday when Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump talked over the phone and agreed to work together, both to boost international cooperation against the coronavirus pandemic and to stabilize the global economy.
On top of the pledge the Group of 20 (G20) major economies made on Thursday at an extraordinary leaders' summit to present a united front against the common threat of COVID-19, the Xi-Trump phone call has further demonstrated that China and the United States are able to rise above their differences and stand together for the common interests of all in times of crisis.
It is indeed an extraordinarily challenging moment for both China and the United States, as well as the wider world. As of Friday afternoon, over 530,000 people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19, while the United States has surpassed China in the number of confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The raging pandemic has not only claimed more than 20,000 lives around the world, but has also thrown the global economy under a sinister shadow of uncertainty.
China and the United States are the world's top two economies. Closer cooperation between them carries far-reaching significance at this critical moment, and will surely give a strong boost to global solidarity and coordination, which is now indispensible to tackling the pandemic and restoring global economic vitality.
The top priority is for the two countries to help firm up the world's determination and confidence in fighting an all-out global war against COVID-19. They should jointly push for an international prevention and control network to stem the spread of the virus and fast-track development of effective vaccines and medicines for the benefit of all.
Since the onset of the outbreak, China has taken rigorous measures to contain the epidemic, and has been sharing critical information with the world in an open, transparent and timely manner, providing as much assistance as it can for hard-hit countries and those with fragile public health systems. The United States should follow suit.
Also, the two countries need to work together to support the WHO's work and role in improving global public health governance, so that when another pandemic strikes in the future, the international community will be better prepared.
Meanwhile, the two global economic powerhouses should work with other countries to step up coordination of their macro-economic policies, and carry out the consensuses reached at Thursday's G20 summit, so as to inject a badly-needed dose of certainty into global markets and lay a solid foundation for a robust rebound when the pandemic is defeated.
As Xi told Trump in the phone call, China-U.S. relations are now at an important juncture. That is particularly true. With the coronavirus menacing the whole of humankind, now should be a time of solidarity, instead of smear-mongering; a time of sympathy, instead of hate-stoking; and a time of cooperation, instead of finger-pointing.
Xi said China understands the United States' current predicament over the COVID-19 outbreak and stands ready to provide support within its capacity. He also suggested that the two countries work together to boost cooperation in epidemic control and other fields, and develop a relationship of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
Now is the time for decision-makers in Washington to get a good grasp of the gravity of the situation, and take substantive action to make win-win cooperation the leitmotif of what many argue is the world's most important bilateral relationship.
(by Xinhua writer Wang Lei)
