Global think tanks call for cooperation in COVID-19 fight

02:44

World experts from 10 think tanks called for strengthening cooperation in economic recovery, vaccine development, environmental protection, digital governance, and support for developing countries at an online meeting held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The meeting, titled Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19, brought together 160 experts and media representatives from 48 countries and nine international organizations.

Experts say global think tanks serve as a hub for dialogue and a significant force in building a community devoted to human health. They called for candid and in-depth exchanges among global think tanks to contribute wisdom and energy to enhance international cooperation to fight the virus and promote global economic development.

They believe global governance should be strengthened, and only through solidarity can humanity win the war to end COVID-19.

An official with the State Council Information Office said that China has resolutely launched an all-out people's war against the COVID-19 outbreak and succeeded in containing the spread of the virus. In this battle, China will always stand together with other countries.

China's assistance to many countries is a model of solidarity, said experts from Egypt, Russia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Slovenia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Alistair Michie, the secretary general of British East Asia Council, said that China's white paper on COVID-19 is a blueprint for other countries to learn from.

"It's very obvious that this crisis can only be dealt with and conquered by all nations working together, that's the way to deal with it quickly. Sadly we have not had this situation. Many nations have gone to different ways. They haven't learned from each other and haven't trusted each other. So in many nations the virus has been much worse than it needed to be," he told reporters.

Zhong Nanshan, the director of National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, said that the institute has cooperated with Harvard Medical School on several research projects, and the two sides also had a number of exchanges about COVID-19 treatment, diagnosis and vaccine development. There is also cooperation on vaccine development between China and Canada. He said all these set good examples of global cooperation.

Experts also joined discussions on specific subjects including the effective measures for global economic governance in the post-COVID-19 era, and public health – a new global priority. They stressed that there is a worldwide need for common standards in safeguarding the economic recovery, and a global need for COVID-19 testing and vaccine production.

The forum also launched the Global Think Tank Initiative to Fight COVID-19.