Unity and cooperation are the international community's most potent weapon to overcome the pandemic

V. China has taken timely, decisive, and effective measures in the fight against the virus, and it has not only been responsible for the health of its own people, but also contributed to global public health. China has made tremendous sacrifices to fight the pandemic, a fact that has been recognized by the global community.

Under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, thanks to the concerted efforts of all sides, prevention and control work is proceeding effectively and has earned approval from all sectors of society and the international community. During my meeting with the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he stated that the swift speed and large scale with which China acted have rarely been seen in the world, that this is a manifestation of China’s institutional strength and something worthy of other countries learning from, and that he was confident the measures China has taken would bring the epidemic under effective control and eventually defeat it.

—Remarks at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee regarding the response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, February 3, 2020

China not only safeguards the health and safety of the Chinese people, but also safeguards the health and safety of the people of the world. We promptly notified the WHO and relevant countries and regions including the United States in an open, transparent, and responsible manner, and invited the WHO and relevant experts to go to Wuhan for field visits. We took timely, decisive, and effective measures, which were fully affirmed and highly praised by the WHO and many countries.

—Phone call with US President Donald Trump, February 7, 2020

In taking strong measures against the epidemic, China is not only being responsible for the health of its own people, but also contributing to global public health, and this has been fully affirmed by the WHO and countries around the world.

—Phone call with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, February 13, 2020

In the wake of the outbreak, the international community has watched closely how China responds and how effective that response is. It has praised the strength, spirit, and efficiency demonstrated by the Chinese people, which reflected China’s status as a responsible major country. Leaders of more than 170 countries and heads of over 40 international and regional organizations have expressed sympathy and support to China by telephone, letter and statement. It is recognized worldwide that while combating the epidemic in a comprehensive and effective way, China has actively cooperated and communicated with the WHO and the international community, quickly shared the whole genome sequences of some virus strains, developed rapid test kits, and worked hard to prevent the spread of the epidemic around the world. In doing so, we have not only shown ourselves responsible for the health and safety of the Chinese people but also contributed to the world’s public health endeavors.

The international community at large is also of the belief that the resolute and powerful prevention and control measures taken by China, and the remarkable capacities in leadership, response, organization, mobilization, and implementation it has shown are beyond the reach of other countries and have set a model for the world in epidemic prevention.

—Speech at a meeting to coordinate efforts to curb the COVID-19 outbreak and promote economic and social development, February 23, 2020

China upholds the vision of a global community with a shared future and has taken responsibility for safeguarding the lives and health of its people and for global public health. We have actively carried out international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic with an open, transparent, and responsible attitude, and this has been fully affirmed and universally recognized by the WHO and the international community. China will continue to strengthen cooperation with Mongolia and all other countries in order to jointly and effectively respond to the epidemic and to maintain the security of regional and global public health.

—Remarks during a talk with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, February 27, 2020

We have strengthened international cooperation on epidemic control. Recently, I have had many phone conversations with the leaders of many countries. Since January 22, I have had 26 calls with 22 foreign leaders and heads of international organizations. Yesterday I also attended the Extraordinary G20 Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19. All parties have universally affirmed that we controlled the epidemic quickly and expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with China and work together under multilateral frameworks to meet the challenges faced in responding to the epidemic.

—Speech at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on further coordinating COVID-19 prevention and control efforts with economic and social development work, March 27, 2020

※These are excerpts about international cooperation on overcoming the pandemic from speeches and remarks made by President Xi Jinping, letters and messages sent by him to leaders of other countries and heads of international organizations, and phone conversations between them during January and April 2020.