Returning the favor

The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, as the virus had spread to all the continents except Antarctica.

The world is now fighting a war without guns and bullets against a common enemy. With more countries going into lockdown, global travel and social and economic activities have been severely disrupted.

US President Donald Trump has likened himself to a "wartime president", after initially downplaying the threat of the virus. The sudden change in US reaction was apparently prompted by a report from Imperial College London which warned that 2.2 million US citizens and 510,000 UK citizens could die from the pandemic if no strong measures were taken to stem the spread of the virus. On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency to stem the coronavirus outbreak.

Amid the worsening of the pandemic across the world, the spokesperson for China's National Health Commission announced a news conference in Beijing that the peak of the novel coronavirus epidemic in the country is over, just hours after the WHO characterized the disease as a pandemic. The overall epidemic situation in China is now under control as domestic cases in the country have dropped to a single digit.

President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on March 10. On the same day, the city closed down all the 16 makeshift hospitals, marking the turning point in China's months-long battle against the virus. It also implicitly sent the message to the world that President Xi has delivered on his message that "China is fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic."

To do this, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province with a population of 11 million and a major rail hub, was locked down on Jan 23 in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. Two hospitals, which provided more than 2,000 additional beds, were built in 10 days and stadiums were converted into temporary quarantine centers, while more than 40,000 medical staff and volunteers went to Wuhan to aid the local medical workers. Meanwhile, food and medical supplies were rushed to Wuhan and other cities hard hit by the epidemic from all over China.

The Chinese people indeed fought with their "blood, toil, sweat and tears" to combat the spread of the virus. China sacrificed the economy of Hubei province to buy time for the world to be better prepared for the virus.

"The measures in China are incredible, unprecedented, from which we can learn a lot on how this kind of outbreak is handled," said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the WHO, commending China's efforts to contain the virus.

"It is clear that China has made a massive effort in order to contain the disease and avoid its propagation. I think that effort is remarkable," said the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

After a fact-finding visit to China in late February, Bruce Aylward, the team leader of the WHO-China Joint Mission, praised China's handling of the outbreak. He said the rest of the world should access the expertise of China.

"They know what they're doing and they're really, really good at it. If I have COVID-19, I want to be treated in China," he said.

Though still vigilant of imported cases and wary of a second wave infections, China has been unhesitant in sharing its experience and information with the world and donating needy medical supplies to countries hard hit by the virus.

In response to Italy's request, China dispatch a team of nine experts, with 31 tons of medical supplies including intensive care equipment, medical protective gear and anti-virus drugs to Rome on March 12. Beijing has also sent healthcare professionals to Iran, Iraq and other countries.

The Chinese government has so far delivered medical supplies to Pakistan, Laos, Thailand, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Japan

and the African Union. And medical supplies from China to assist Malaysia's fight against the pandemic have just arrived.

China has further announced that it will provide assistance to dozens of other countries including France, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Iraq, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Cuba and Chile.

China has also donated $20 million to the WHO to support the fight against the virus and is helping developing countries to strengthen their response capacity. In the private sector, Jack Ma of Alibaba announced a shipment of 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks and 60,000 protective suits and face shields for countries in Africa.

By extending a helping hand to countries threatened by the novel coronavirus outbreak, China is simply embodying its vision of a community with a shared future for mankind.

China has suffered the ravages of the novel coronavirus epidemic and is grateful for the support it received from the world during those difficult times. And as the pandemic spreads to the other parts of the global community, China is determined to help those affected by sharing of its medical expertise and supplies.

Instead of playing the blame game, world leaders should set aside ideology and geopolitics, and work to jointly develop an effective vaccine and strengthen the global public health system. In an interconnected world, no country is an island. Humankind shares a common destiny.

The author is the president of the Centre For New Inclusive Asia, a think tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.