If history is any lesson, people have cooperated to fight epidemics for many centuries. Chinese people spread the technique variolation to many countries to help control smallpox in ancient times. English doctor Edward Jenner in 1796 improved the treatment and formed the basis for vaccination. Widespread vaccination made the world free of smallpox by the 1980s.

Nonetheless, globalization has been blamed by some parties for the international spread of COVID-19. These parties also instigated discrimination against certain countries and leveraged stigmatization to achieve hidden political ends.

Is globalization really in a crisis? No. In fact, people value it more than ever amid the outbreak. The United States is increasing orders for masks from China. Workers in South Korea are speeding up the production of ventilators requested by US President Donald Trump. In Europe, critically ill Italian patients have been transferred to Germany for further treatment.

No wonder many entrepreneurs have urgently called for strengthening the world's supply chain, which was heavily hit by the pandemic, in order to revive business and benefit citizens.

G20 trade and commerce ministers on March 30 called for openness and mutual cooperation to mitigate an economic slowdown and curb the spread of COVID-19.

In practice, three difficulties should be kept in mind when countries commit to collective efforts. One is the pandemic's crippling impact on the whole industrial and commercial situation. Dozens of big economies must contend with sharply reduced trade volume and weak production. A report from a UN trade and development meeting estimated that the world's foreign direct investment is likely to drop 40 percent because of the disease.

Overreaction and panic is the second difficulty. Many countries shut down borders and suspended air service at short notice, disturbing the world's transportation and logistics networks. Over a hundred passengers were stranded at Frankfurt airport in Germany due to a reckless suspension order, and waited days in frustration for other ways to get back home. The outbreak is unprecedented, but complete entry restrictions or even blocking trade for safety concerns seems unwise.

Another headwind comes from the conspiracy theory of “decoupling the economy” that some US politicians have coined, aiming to reduce "reliance on the Chinese market.” At the end of January, when China was struggling to control the COVID-19, American Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said “the outbreak would offer an unexpected benefit for the US economy and encourage manufacturers in China to return to the United States.”

But according to the latest St. Louis Fed projections, the coronavirus economic freeze could cost 47 million jobs and send the unemployment rate past 32%. When some states in America cried for medical supply, it was China offering the helping hand. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti last week expressed appreciation to China’s two cities - Shanghai and Guangzhou - for sending them masks and personal protective equipment.

China, the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter, has close connections with the rest of the world. The ill-minded attempt to separate from China means unhooking ties with the world. No country can survive in isolation amid globalization, especially in the midst of this outbreak.

After getting the disease under control and resuming nationwide production, “the Chinese government had announced assistance to 82 countries, the WHO and the AU, with testing reagents, masks and protective gowns,” according to the press briefing of the Foreign Ministry on March 20.

A fresh window for controlling the virus has come, as some experts predicted. We should quicken collective steps to help medical resources move freely toward those in need and reduce barriers to rejuvenate trade and cooperation.