XI: COLLECTIVE EFFORTS KEY TO FIGHTING VIRUS

The international community should make joint efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus, which is the common enemy of all mankind, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remarks in telephone conversations with Belgian King Philippe and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

In his phone conversation with the Belgian king, Xi said that the virus recognizes no borders or races and only through making collective efforts will the international community prevail over the outbreak.

Noting that he raised proposals on enhancing international cooperation and stabilizing the global economy during the recent Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19, Xi said that China will speed up the resumption of work and production on the basis of consolidating disease prevention and control.

China will overcome difficulties to give priority to restoring and raising the output of medicine and disease prevention materials, strengthen supervision over product quality and provide more materials for the global fight against the disease, Xi said.

Noting that Belgium and Europe are facing stern challenges as the disease spreads around the world, Xi expressed sincere sympathy and firm support to Belgium's royal family, government and people.

When China was at the critical stage of fighting the disease, the Belgian people expressed sympathy and support for China, demonstrating the deep friendship between the peoples of the two nations, Xi said.

China would like to make efforts to help Belgium resolve its current medical materials shortage, share disease prevention and treatment experience with Belgium and jointly promote cooperation in the research of vaccines and medicine, Xi said.

China hopes that Belgium pays great attention to the safety of Chinese citizens, and especially students, in the country, Xi added.

China would like to make joint efforts with Belgium to overcome the impact of the disease, promote cooperation in all areas and promote the development of China-Belgium and China-Europe relations, he said.

King Philippe said that China has taken the lead in controlling the disease, and China's experience can be useful for other countries.

China has offered support for other countries' fight against the disease and made contributions, he said, adding that Belgium appreciates China's supply of medical materials.

Belgium would like to launch cooperation with China in medicine research and development, and he said China is a true friend of Belgium.

In his conversation with the Indonesian president, Xi said the Chinese people have left the most difficult time behind after making great efforts, adding that China would like to offer support and help to Indonesia to overcome its difficulties.

Xi said that China and Indonesia should join hands to encourage the G20 and the international community to focus on crisis response and global economic governance.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Indonesia diplomatic relations, Xi said that China would like to deepen Belt and Road cooperation with Indonesia and promote closer bilateral ties.

The Indonesian president said that under Xi's leadership, the Chinese people have made great progress in fighting the disease, and the world should learn from China's experience.

He expressed gratitude to China for its material assistance and support, saying that this is of great significance for his country.

Noting that the virus is a common enemy of mankind, he said that Indonesia firmly opposes activities that seek to stigmatize nations.

NATION TO MOURN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS ON APRIL 4

A national mourning will be held on Saturday, this year’s Tomb Sweeping Day, to commemorate those who succumbed to the novel coronavirus, according to the State Council, China’s cabinet.

To express profound condolences to martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the battle against the epidemic and compatriots who died of the pathogen, national flags will be lowered to half-mast across the country and in Chinese embassies abroad on the day, and public recreational activities will be suspended nationwide, the State Council said.

Starting 10 am Saturday, people across the country will observe three minutes of silence. Sirens of automobiles, trains and ships will be blared. An air defense warning will also go off.

EXPERTS URGE CLOSER SINO-US TIES IN PUBLIC HEALTH

From the early detection of community transmission to best practices in combating COVID-19, China's experience are applicable to disease control in the United States, and the two countries need to ramp up cooperation, a former health counselor at the US embassy in Beijing said on Wednesday.

"I think the biggest lesson is that community spread can happen before you notice it. We were testing far too narrowly when we should have considered the implications for the entire country," said Deborah Seligsohn, who was an environment, science, technology and health counselor at the US embassy in China from 2003 to 2007.

Seligsohn, who worked at the embassy when Beijing and Washington cooperated in the fight against the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, said the US needs to examine the way Chinese provinces outside of Hubei province, once the epicenter of the COVID-19 contagion, implemented controls to determine best practices.

An investigation of transmission-control measures during the first 50 days of the coronavirus epidemic in China since the shutdown of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, on Jan 23 found that suspending intracity public transportation, closing entertainment venues and banning public gatherings were associated with a reduced number of cases.

The national emergency response appears to have delayed the growth and limited the size of the epidemic in China, averting hundreds of thousands of cases, according to a report on the investigation published by Science magazine on Tuesday.

Seligsohn, now assistant professor of political science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention are both top epidemiological organizations, but without an overall constructive relationship, it is difficult for them to work together at the level they did before.

The US and China had a high level of cooperation in battling SARS, the H5N1 and H1N1 influenza outbreaks and Ebola virus disease, Seligsohn noted. Such collaboration, if maintained, would have allowed scientists to put their heads together, which might have helped with China's initial response to disease.

Asked if public health exchange forums, such as the US-China Health Summit held in 2017, should be resumed, Seligsohn said it is urgent to restart high-level engagement.

"We need leaders to agree on a robust program of global disease detection," she said. "We know China has many more trained epidemiologists and resources than it did before SARS, so this should be a different relationship. It should be one where we work together in many places to detect future disease outbreaks."

Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said as the two major powers in the world, in the current circumstances, China and the US should be united, not just fighting their own war against the virus, but providing essential aid to countries with less developed public health systems.

China's initial achievements in containing the epidemic cannot be achieved without the strong support of the international community, Ruan said, adding that when the disease broke out in China, US organizations and companies extended a helping hand, which was highly appreciated by the Chinese people.

He noted that at this moment, China is actively engaged in international and regional cooperation to combat the epidemic, while continuing to prevent and control the epidemic at home.

"While the US is currently facing an escalation of the outbreak, many Chinese companies and individuals are also providing assistance. China and the US should cooperate in fighting the pandemic," Ruan added.

At a news conference on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said it is "positive" that China is shipping medical supplies to help countries battle the coronavirus pandemic.

"I view that as a positive if they're helping other countries," Trump said, adding, "If China can help them, I'm all for it."

When asked if he had received an intelligence report that talked about a discrepancy in the COVID-19 numbers in China, Trump said "we have not received" any intelligence reports showing that China underreported its coronavirus numbers, though he said the numbers "seem to be a little bit on the light side".

"As to whether or not their numbers are accurate, I'm not an accountant from China," Trump said."But we had a great call the other night, we're working together in a lot of different things including trade," he said, referring to the phone conversation he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday on anti-epidemic cooperation and bilateral ties.

With the total global COVID-19 cases set to exceed 1 million, the World Health Organization expressed its grave concern on Wednesday about the rapid escalation of the pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there had been an exponential growth in infections during the past five weeks, with the disease now reaching almost every country, territory and area, and with the number of deaths more than doubling in the past week.

"I am deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection," Tedros said, adding the WHO now expects the number of COVID-19 cases to reach 1 million and 50,000 deaths in the coming days.

The number of the confirmed coronavirus cases in the US surged past 216,000 as of Wednesday−more than any other nation, with more than 5,100 reported deaths.

BEIJING REBUTS 'IMMORAL' US ACCUSATIONS ON DATA

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday that some US politicians are "being immoral and inhuman" for not putting people's lives and health above politics amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Rebutting the United States intelligence community's conclusion that Beijing underreported its epidemic data, Hua said that slander, smears and shifting the blame to others cannot make up for lost time, but will only cost more lost time and lives.

"The Chinese people understand very well, and sympathize with the American people for the pain they are suffering now," Hua said at a regular news conference in Beijing, adding that China is willing to provide them with help and support, within its ability, to combat the virus.

Politicizing public health issues should be denounced by people worldwide including those in the US, she said, urging US politicians to adjust their work priorities and direction and concentrate on saving the lives of people in the US.

On Thursday, the spokeswoman also further clarified previous media reports about the quality of masks purchased by the Netherlands from China.

According to an initial investigation by Chinese authorities, the reported shipment was of nonmedical masks purchased by a Dutch agent, Hua said, adding that the Chinese company had explicitly notified the Dutch before shipment that they were exported as nonmedical masks in the customs declaration.

"Now all countries urgently demand epidemic prevention materials. We kindly remind users to carefully check the purposes and use instructions of products, making sure the products meet their standards to avoid making mistakes in a hurry," she said.

Chinese authorities have adopted stricter measures to ensure the quality of medical supply exports since Wednesday, requiring exporters to provide extra documentation during customs clearance to prove that their products meet the quality standards of importing countries or regions.

Hua accused some media outlets of being irresponsible in hyping up a so-called quality issue with Chinese products before checking the facts.

"I hope they don't have ulterior motives because that will not help international cooperation in epidemic control," she said.

COUNTRY'S STRENGTHS KEY TO GLOBAL STABILITY

As the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the globe and causes severe economic damage, whether China−so far the only major economy that has largely brought the disease under control−can manage a brisk recovery concerns not only the country itself, but the entire world.

China's economy has accelerated steps for recovery as epidemic containment efforts bear fruit. The purchasing managers' index rebounded to 52 for March, returning to expansion territory and up from 35.7 in February.

The international community expects the world's second-largest economy to be an anchor amid hard-hit global growth, while China's top leadership has also vowed to contribute to global economic stability.

I would argue that the crucial task for China now is to maintain and advance its key strengths as follows.

The first strength is China's position as "the world's factory". Ranging from luxuries to needles and thread, or from aircraft parts to computer keyboards, China has provided countless goods to the rest of the world for decades.

As the coronavirus spreads, surgical masks, medical equipment and daily necessities have been in short supply in more and more economies, and some of them have turned to China for help. In this time of crisis, China's strong manufacturing and supply capacity has assumed greater importance.

A recent top-level meeting of China's leadership has called for strengthening international economic cooperation and ensuring the smooth flow of international freight, signaling the country's determination to satisfy pressing global demand.

Chinese enterprises should spare no efforts in adapting to changes in external demand due to the pandemic and provide scarce supplies in a timely fashion. In particular, medical equipment manufacturers should ramp up research and development to upgrade their products to better satisfy practical needs in overseas markets.

As Chinese enterprises resume production and expand capacity, epidemic-control-related goods will be continuously delivered to the rest of the world as part of the fight against the pandemic.

This will also help China buffer the shock of weakening external demand in the short term, and maintain its heft as the world's factory and its position in the global supply chain in the long term−all conducive to achieving steady economic development.

The second strength is China's vast domestic market with its strong demand. Annual per capita GDP surpassed $10,000 in China last year, while the country has a 400 million-strong middle-income population, the largest in the world.

China will further unleash the full potential of domestic consumption by eradicating poverty. The country is determined to complete the task of poverty eradication by the end of this year.

For sure, it is a challenge for China to eradicate poverty.

But it is the mission of the Communist Party of China to accomplish this goal before the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding in 2021. In addition to putting the central authorities' directions of poverty eradication into place, ensuring no major rebound of the novel coronavirus epidemic is key to achieving this goal.

The vast and still growing domestic market means that China has the potential to boost demand and provide impressive investment opportunities for global capital. Both factors are crucial for the global economy to recover once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

In short, by maintaining the key strengths of having both a strong manufacturing capacity and a vibrant domestic market, China can serve as a powerful force in the world's efforts to contain the virus and ease economic fallout.

For China, reinforcing these advantages will help ensure that its economy stays connected with the rest of the world.

In other words, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that the fates of China and the world are closely linked. Only with mutual trust and international cooperation can we win the battle against the virus.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Much ingenuity with a little money is vastly more profitable and amusing than much money without ingenuity. - Arnold Bennett