Beating COVID-19 in solidarity for health of all

The 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) came at a critical moment when the novel coronavirus is still ravaging the world, devouring lives and wreaking havoc on the global economy.

At Monday's opening of the virtual gathering, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the international community to fight COVID-19 in solidarity, and build a global community of health for all, injecting confidence and impetus into the world's collective drive to end the outbreak.

The deadly pandemic, the most serious global public health emergency in the post-war period, has so far spread to more than 210 countries and regions, affected more than 7 billion people, and claimed over 300,000 lives. When facing this common challenge, countries around the world have been looking out for each other and striving to put people's lives first.

Since the outbreak, China has acted with openness, transparency and responsibility. Beijing released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time, and has been sharing information and experience on epidemic containment with the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant countries in a timely fashion. It has also been doing everything within its abilities to help those in need by providing supplies, and dispatching teams of medical experts.

However, the situation around the world remains grim. The epidemic has yet to reach its peak in some countries, while others are working to bring work and production back to normal, and the risk of a second wave of infections stays high.

At the same time, the human race still needs to get a better understanding of this previously unknown virus, and the arrival of effective medicines and vaccines is not in sight.

At Monday's meeting, China pledged to support the WHO in playing its leading role in the global pandemic fight, step up assistance for Africa, strengthen global public health governance, and make the country's COVID-19 vaccine a global public good when available.

Those propositions, which have drawn inspirations from China's own experience and the consensus of the international community, bear great significance to coordinate actions worldwide and have demonstrated China's willingness to shoulder its fair share of global responsibility.

At the opening session, Xi called on the international community to come together and make concerted efforts to protect the life and health of people in all countries, as well as to safeguard planet Earth.

Viruses respect no borders. Nor is race or nationality relevant in the face of a pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has proven once again that the human race belongs to a community with a shared future. Solidarity and cooperation are the only ways to overcome the crisis of the moment.