US needs to work with China in pandemic fight: US economist

KUALA LUMPUR - The United States must work with China to find a global solution to end the raging COVID-19 pandemic, said renowned US economist Jeffrey Sachs in an interview with Malaysian media published on Sunday.

In an email interview with Malaysian newspaper the Star, Sachs said the global response to the pandemic has been wholly inadequate and one of the main geopolitical problems might have been the failure of the United States to work with China for global solutions.

"This is tragic, since China has done an excellent job of suppressing the pandemic, and the world could and should have learned a lot more from China's response," said the US economist, who heads the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, which has been created to help speed up global, equitable, and lasting solutions to the pandemic.

"The United States should learn some good manners to work cooperatively with China, rather than trying to impose its will on that nation," he said.

Sachs, who is also the director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, pointed out US failures to contain the disease at home.

"The culture in many societies such as the United States has put personal behavior ahead of the social good," he said. "In the name of 'liberty', Americans have failed to follow basic rules and protocols, and the disease has therefore been allowed to run rampant in the United States."

Rich countries have also not generously shared their knowledge, especially on vaccines, Sachs said, urging greater efforts by countries and different parts of the world for coordinated responses.

Meanwhile, the global financing system has favored rich countries, providing too little support to the developing world, he added.

"We should be investing far more resources into epidemiology, disease surveillance, disease prevention, and disease treatments," he concluded.