As the COVID-19 Epidemic Gets Rampant across the World, China should Stick to the "Four Adherences"

Yu Hongjun

As the COVID-19 Epidemic Gets Rampant across the World, China should Stick to the "Four Adherences"

Yu Hongjun

Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, CPAPD Vice President and former Vice Minister of the IDCPC, Senior Consultant of China Silk Road iValley Research Institute

The year 2020 is an important one for the Chinese nation to achieve the decisive victory for the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, realize comprehensive rejuvenation and accelerate its march to the center of the world stage, and is also a key year for the international community to promote a new round of economic globalization and seek to improve global governance. However, the unknown COVID-19 outbreak has hit the world hard, and made the human society in an unprecedented semi-paralysis. The "political virus" of beggar-thy-neighbor, mutual hatred and isolation to each other together with the "spiritual pestilence" of blaming others, rumor-mongering and instigating confrontation came like a tsunami in a mixture. In the face of such a complex situation, China only adheres to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, adheres to participating in and promoting the global epidemic prevention cooperation, adheres to promoting the Belt and Road construction, adheres to carrying out policy communications and communicating among people, can it gain advantages and avoid disadvantages in the changing circumstances unseen in the past century and forge ahead.

I. Adhering to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In the process of human reproduction, passing on from generation to generation and moving towards the future, human society will always encounter various risks and dangers from inside or outside, and will always face up various unforeseen conflicts and challenges. The current outbreak of novel coronavirus rampant across the world is the biggest public health event after China has entered the stage of modern development, and is also a life and death catastrophe confronted by the human society. The far-reaching impact of this disaster on international relations, the world economy, social culture and the future conduct of human beings is still difficult to accurately assess.

According to the World Health Organization, as of 16:00 on June 30, Beijing time, there were more than 10.6 million confirmed cases and more than 500,000 deaths worldwide. The United States has become the "epidemic superpower" worth of the name. In Italy, Spain, France, Britain and other European countries, the situation is very serious, some countries have a mortality rate of more than 10%. From the CIS region where Russia is located to Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the West Asia where Islamic countries are concentrated, from the African continent to the South Pacific and even Latin America as a whole, the virus outbreaks respects neither national boundary nor ethnic groups, nor religious culture, value system, social system and development level. This is a common disaster and challenge encountered by mankind.

In order to block novel coronavirus transmission and prevent the pandemic from spreading, some countries hit hard by the pandemic have taken emergency measures to close down cities, ban social gathering, stop production, close border, suspend the flow of people and transport of goods temporarily, etc.. The human society has never stopped activities on such a large scale for the prevention and control of infectious diseases as it is today. But it is precisely these extreme means with no alternative that have hit the world economy very hard. The service industry and manufacturing industry have shrunk significantly, the global industrial chain and supply chain have broken in large areas, and the world futures market and stock market have been severely shaken. It is these common risks and crises that the world needs to respond to.

China already has a scientific judgment and reflection on the nature and characteristics of the times that human social security and development interests are closely intertwined and the future and destiny are related to each other. In recent years, China has paid special attention to the relevance and consistency of its own development and security interests with those of other countries in the world. During his visit to Russia in March 2013, President Xi Jinping delivered speeches on the progress of human civilization, the evolution of world architecture and the relationship between China and the outside world, and unequivocally expounded the thinking of a community with a shared future for mankind and the related concepts of the times, development, cooperation, security and civilization. He points out that: We are in an era of changeable situation, facing up a changing world, with an unprecedented deepening of interconnection and interdependence among all countries. Human kind lives in the same global village, in the time and space where history and reality converge, and more and more becomes a community with a shared future.

Since then, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed the necessity and urgency of building a community with a shared future for human kind on many occasions at home and abroad. In January 2017, he delivered a speech under the title of "Working Together to Build a Community of a Shared Future for Mankind" at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva. Once again, he stresses, Mankind is in an era of major development as well as profound transformation and change. Interconnection and interdependence between countries are crucial for human survival. Mankind is also in an era of numerous challenges and increasing risks including traditional and non-conventional security threats, particularly terrorism, refugee crisis, major communicable diseases and climate change. China’s approach is to build a community of a shared future for mankind.

The thought of a community with a shared future for mankind is the theoretical foundation of China's diplomacy in the new era, and also the guide for China to participate in international affairs, handle foreign relations and promote the reform of global governance system. The truth of this important thought has been confirmed by the development trend of the world. The novel coronavirus epidemic has become rampant across the globe, and the global cooperation in anti-pandemic efforts is gradually taking shape, which once again demonstrates the fundamental attributes of human society's interdependent safety, and shared destiny. At the Extraordinary G20 Leaders Summit on March 26, President Xi Jinping announced that "the major infectious diseases are the enemies of whole mankind", which is widely recognized by the international community.

Since then, Pope Francis has prayed for the world saying that we are all in the same boat and need help from each other. Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations said that the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, a crisis facing mankind, requires the concerted efforts of the world's major economies and decisive, innovative and inclusive policy initiatives to be adopted. Although their language systems are different, it is an indisputable fact that the scientific judgment on the destiny of human society commonly shared is more and more widely recognized.

Therefore, no matter how the international situation changes in the future, no matter how the post- epidemic world architecture is restructured, China should unswervingly adhere to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, unswervingly adhere to this theory and relevant policies to deal with foreign affairs, and promote the common development and progress of human society.

II. Adhering to promoting and participating in global anti-pandemic cooperation.

There are great differences in capabilities and ways to cope with major disasters and crises by various countries due to different development levels, governance systems, social customs and cultural psychology. But in the face of major disasters, working together in response is in line with the humanitarian character and nature of human society, and in line with the permanent aspirations for collaboration in times of crisis.

The novel coronavirus pandemic broke out suddenly in China, which received support and assistance from governments, enterprises, non-governmental organizations and friendly people from various countries in the world. The Chinese Government has repeatedly expressed its gratitude to the international community. At the same time, China has maintained close cooperation with the WHO since the beginning, and timely reported the development of the epidemic situation and China's prevention and control measures. Later, with prevention and control situation becoming more and more stable, China provided various forms of support and assistance to the WHO and other relevant United Nations agencies, to neighboring countries, developing countries and even European and North American countries, which was widely praised by the international community. U.S. President Trump also expressed his "agreement" and acknowledged that China's support for global anti-epidemic is "positive".

On 15 March 2020, the first rail of the China-Laos Railway project beginning with the Lao Capital is laid, indicating the launch of the China-Laos Railway project of the Belt and Road construction. (Xinhua News)

Regarding unity for cooperation to respond to COVID-19 outbreak in the international community, China has always been frank and open to the outside world and actively participated in the response to the pandemic, which is known to all. President Xi Jinping announced at the Extraordinary G20 Leaders Summit that China is willing to share its successful practices of preventing and controlling the epidemic with countries concerned, and has made a series of important proposals to fight the global resistant battle against the epidemic outbreak. Meanwhile, he also replied to the WHO Director General saying to him that "human kind is a community with a shared future … We are ready to work with WHO and other countries to contribute to the maintenance of global public health security." Since then, the international community has noticed that China from the central government to the local government, from non-governmental organizations to enterprises and institutions, from diplomatic corps to companies stationed overseas, has taken actions. China's efforts and scale in participating in and supporting global anti-pandemic cooperation are growing fast. More and more Chinese experts, scholars and medical staff fly to all parts of the world to join the front line of the global anti-epidemic struggle.

There are signs indicating that worldwide actions against the novel coronavirus pandemic may continue for quite some time. There will be various ways and means for China to participate in global anti-epidemic cooperation. China’s inputs and efforts will not only be rewarded in good faith, but also meet unexpected problems, such as malicious attacks and distortions by international hostile force, and the negative impact of domestic bad businesses or individual violations. However, no matter how complicated the situation is and how arduous the task is, China would remain committed to shouldering the responsibilities and fulfilling the obligations of the major powers in the global anti-pandemic cooperation. As for this magnificent critical issue concerning the future and destiny of mankind, China will not hesitate to keep pace with world and the times.

III. Adhering to promoting the Belt and Road construction

The global outbreak of novel coronavirus epidemic not only poses a real threat to the healthy life and human safety, but also brings enormous damages to the world economy, the reconstruction of trade order and the international cultural exchange. In other words, the pandemic seriously affects and disrupts the development course of human society.

Affected by the pandemic, this year's world economic development and global employment situation will be extremely severe. As the world's largest economy, the U.S. stock market has repeatedly been interrupted, the Federal Reserve tried to rescue the market without bottom line, Boeing, General Electric and other giant enterprises have had to temporarily shut down or cut jobs. On April 21, the WTI price of West Texas fell to a negative value in May in the United States, and finally closed at $-37.63 per barrel, which shocked the whole world. This round of economic crisis in the international community will far surpass the Great Depression before the Second World War. The era of closed development in which sovereign economy prevails may come.

Facing up this grim situation, President Xi Jinping at the Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit recommended to the international community to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and jointly safeguard global financial markets and the global industrial chain, and supply chain stability. If these recommendations can be generally accepted and fully implemented, it is not impossible for various countries in the world to strengthen economic ties through global anti-pandemic cooperation, rebuild the international economic order, reshape the world economic and trade pattern, upgrade the global industrial chain and supply chain to a higher level, and explore a new avenue for improving global economic governance.

China's push on the Belt and Road construction still has irreplaceable demonstration value in preventing economic globalization from collapsing, exploring new economic and trade order and promoting new-type international cooperation. Over the past six years, the Belt and Road construction has gained world-wide recognition in many countries and many other fields. China's practice of the Belt and Road construction is not only a "China approach" promoting integrated development and chained development in the world, but also a new paradigm for guiding the world to win-win cooperation and mutual benefits. The unknown pandemic may change the world significantly, however, under the Belt and Road framework, equal cooperation, extensive cooperation and sustainable cooperation can be continued, various countries of the world can still abandon social system differences, transcend ideological disputes, and maximize the docking of development concepts, policies and regulations, and institutional mechanisms.

We certainly also note that the global outbreak of pandemic has forced governments of all countries to shift their priority and focus on virus outbreak prevention and control, the Belt and Road construction has met with unexpected impacts. In China, enterprises are faced with difficulties and pressures in production, circulation, financing, labor, safety and other aspects, so their ability to go global has relatively declined, and their ability to execute overseas contracts and fulfill contractual obligations may also be discounted. In addition, many countries are no longer able to continue to promote large-scale infrastructure construction, new projects of the Belt and Road Initiative will not take off in support to each other in a short period. Some force overseas may speak ill of the Belt and Road Initiative on the pretext of these situation, and sow discord in the cooperation between China and its partners for the Belt and Road construction.

In this regard, we should have a clear understanding and adequate preparation. We should come up with new arrangements and new plans from the perspective of resources configuration, orientation focus and policy guidance in order to ensure the continuous development and smooth operation of the Belt and Road construction. In the light of its general trend, pushing forward the Belt and Road construction despite repeated frustrations as in the past, we must take the opportunity to lead in the future. The most important point is to strictly abide by the general policy of seeking progress in the course of stability, and strive to adjust the direction of conduct, optimize the quality of projects, improve the level of cooperation, resolve all safety risks, strengthen people-to-people communication and ensure personnel safety. Under the current situation, we should pay attention to the needs of the national economy and the people's livelihood, serve public health, and strive to make substantive contributions to international cooperation in the anti-pandemic efforts.

Adhering to the Belt and Road construction is the embodiment of China's will to open its door to engage in country-building, and there is no other alternative for the Chinese nation to cooperate with the international community to forge head in difficulties. We are not eager for quick results and instant benefits, nor do we impose difficulties on others. Instead, we make overall plans, promote rational operations, and will surely achieve another success in the global cooperation in anti-pandemic and in the reconstruction of the world economy in the post-pandemic period.

IV. Adhering to policy communication and people -to -people exchanges.

The novel coronavirus outbreak warns us that the relationship between human beings and the natural world, between the diversified ways of human survival and development, and between different components of human society are undergoing sudden changes. In the face of the biggest accident in "the great changes unseen in a hundred years" and the rolling numerous shocks and challenges, the international public opinion is in chaos. China's super strong ability, special means and demonstrative effect in response to the epidemic prevention and control have led some force in the world to have shown more worries and uneasiness about China's accelerated rising.

A certain international force is fabricating rumors and stigmatizing China in attempt to shirk their political responsibility for preventing and controlling the pandemic timely and effectively resulting in seriously worsening the disastrous situation, requesting China to assume responsibility for the spread of the pandemic and even demanding China make compensation to countries concerned. On the other hand, they make irresponsible remarks about various measures taken by the Chinese Government to prevent spread of the epidemic, and then slandered China's political system, governance mode and value system, sparing no effort to obliterate the positive impact of China's successful anti-epidemic efforts and support for the global anti-epidemic actions. In view of this, it is imperative for China to carry out policy communication and people-to-people exchanges.

The so-called policy communication is to mobilize the whole nation, cooperate closely with each other and continuously strengthen the interpretation and publicity of China's internal and external policies from central government to local government, from overseas diplomatic corps to overseas state enterprises under the leadership of Xi Jinping's head-of-state diplomacy. The so-called "people-to-people connectivity" is to make full use of all communication resources and means at home and abroad, and mobilize all the potential and factors that can be mobilized, including various kind of media and academic institutions to do a targeted job in solving doubts, guiding public opinion, correcting the maladies of the times to various sectors of the society and people overseas.

At present, the focus of policy communication and people-to-people connectivity with foreign countries is to publicize the phased achievements of the Chinese government in leading the Chinese people in the fight against the epidemic, and publicize China's great efforts to support global cooperation in the battle against the pandemic. To carry out policy communication and people-to-people connectivity, first is to make the international community realize that the novel coronavirus epidemic is a "public enemy of mankind", so there is no other way out unless various countries of the world give up any previous grievances and help each other, and two is necessary to show to the international community that the Chinese government's achievements in fight against the pandemic cannot be belittled, neither can the Chinese nation's contribution to the global cooperation in anti-pandemic be distorted.

To carry out policy communication and people-to-people connectivity, we should not only focus on the current global fight against the epidemic, but also take into account the routine work of national image building, cultural exchange and cooperation. We should integrate the current priorities with long-term tasks organically; neither loses the center of gravity, nor focus on one matter to the neglect of the rest.

Adhering to the two tasks of policy communication and people-to-people connectivity is related to the image-building of the CPC and our country, and the public opinion foundation of mutual trust and cooperation between the Chinese nation and various countries in the world. We should put in unremitting efforts to make overall planning and coordination, and strive to form a sound pattern that supplements and complements each other. We should learn how to sum up experience, make up for shortcomings and improve ways and means of responding to negative international public opinion. We should curb the impact of narrow nationalism and vulgar populism on our diplomatic work, counterattack anti-social, ant-civilization and anti-human words and deeds, and guide the two tasks of promoting policy communication and people-to-people connectivity onto a orderly and regular development track with reason, to our advantage and with restraint