Solidarity is the only weapon to defeat virus

Thanks to the arduous efforts and sacrifices of the Chinese government and people starting over three months ago, there are growing indications that the situation in China is changing for the better. As we are doing our best to control the outbreak of COVID-19 at home, China is also assisting countries and regions in need. The Chinese government and non-government actors have sent, and are sending, many shipments of urgently needed medical supplies to over 140 countries and international organizations, which has won recognition from the international community. Leaders of some countries greeted and received in person Chinese experts and supplies at the airport, and many foreign people gave praise to the news, sharing countless touching stories.

However, some people misunderstand the efforts and goodwill of China to help the world against the virus, and believe China harbors evil purposes. All these claims caught Chinese people by surprise. Recently, it was advocated by some that China should take responsibility for the epidemic. Some made allegations that the virus originated in China, some accused China of concealing information in the epidemic's early days and some concluded China should take the blame. This is not the truth, and it makes no sense.

The issue of the origin of the novel coronavirus is a serious question that should be studied by scientists and medical experts and requires professional assessment based on the facts. Before that, the blame game is neither meaningful nor useful to easing the situation. After the outbreak, China adopted the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough measures of virus control, and carried out international cooperation actively in an open, transparent and responsible manner.

Facts speak louder than words. On Jan 3, China started to send timely updates to the World Health Organization and other countries about the pneumonia outbreak. On January 11, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention put online five whole genome sequences of the novel coronavirus and shared data with the world and the WHO. We notified the WHO and the international community of human-to-human transmission in a timely manner. China's actions and measures are clear and traceable. China's transparency and contribution to fighting the virus have been applauded by many national leaders, experts and international media and it's agreed China bought precious time for the international community to prepare.

Some people distorted China's goodwill and labeled China's international cooperation fighting the outbreak as "model exporting". China's national system has indeed shown its strength. However, as President Xi Jinping has always emphasized, China does not import foreign models, nor does China export its own model. We have no interests in making comparisons.

The Chinese people will not forget the international community's support and assistance at its most difficult time. Pakistan donated masks from its national hospital stock, a little girl from Mongolia donated her pocket money and the Myanmar government donated rice to China. China is a grateful nation. Now we are actively participating in the international cooperative effort fighting the outbreak and providing aid to other countries in need to the best of our ability. This is not intended to export anything. On the contrary, China is making such efforts to reciprocate the goodwill it received earlier during the epidemic and shoulder its responsibility as a major country. The only things China exports are its practices and experience fighting the outbreak. Our intention is to help other countries defeat the pandemic and save lives. Nothing more.

The virus respects no borders and doesn't care about national or racial differences. The weapon we need is solidarity. China will keep doing its best to help the international community fight the epidemic. We hope all parties take a fair and objective view on China's efforts and goodwill, and join hands to defeat the pandemic as early as possible.

The author is an observer of international issues.