Ambassador Liu Xiaoming calls for international cooperation during pandemic, denies China downplayed

19:16, April 23, 2020

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  Envoy to UK:Global virus fight needed

  Ambassador Liu Xiaoming .Liu: 'Countries of the world belong to one and the same community'.Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming has condemned a "political virus" that he says has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic in which some politicians and world leaders have resorted to "bla

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  Ambassador Liu: China shoulders responsibility to safeguard health of people globally amid pandemic

  File photo: CGTNChinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said Tuesday that China has taken up its responsibility to safeguard the health and well-being of the people of the world in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.Liu made the remarks in a signed article published in British newspaper Financial Times entitled "China has valuable lessons for the world in how to fight COVID-19."Noting that the initial success in China has bolstered international confidence in beating the virus, the ambassador claimed that China will continue to be dedicated to deepening reforms and opening its market even wider to the world.

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  International cooperation and China's responsibility to protect

  Workers make masks on a production line for Wuhan Zonsen Medical Products Co. in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei Province, April 12, 2020. (Photo: AP)During the current global pandemic, given the inability of some nations to manage the crisis well, coupled with the lack of medical materials like test kits, protective kits, and in some cases lack of medical personnel and scientists in those countries, COVID-19has crippled the international system in many ways.The challenges the world faces today have inadvertently provoked the responsibility to protect, in order for the citizens of the world to join hands together to fight the pandemic. Indeed, "solidarity and cooperation" remain the most powerful weapons to fight COVID-19pandemics. No country in the international system right now has the capacity to fight this challenge alone.To win this war, the world needs unity and a clear sense of direction. Importantly therefore, nations should move beyond the blame game as noted by U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, who proposed that, "We should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders".This same position was also echoed by Chinas State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in a phone conversation with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.According to Mr. Wang, "To overcome this unprecedented crisis, countries must rise above ideological difference and reject baseless speculations, particularly attempts to politicize joint efforts to fight the virus."Irrespective of the rivalry and blame attacks, we cannot deny the fact that the COVID-19pandemic is bringing together governments, organizations, different industries and sectors, and individuals to mitigate its spread. An instance is the World Health Organisation (WHO) "Strategic...