Make the mansion of multilateralism more stable

By He Yin

Human beings must stay calm and march toward the right direction as the war against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has entered a critical moment.

Over the past few days, governments, politicians and heads of international organizations have expressed their support for the World Health Organization (WHO) in playing an important role in fighting COVID-19.

At this critical moment, the world is increasingly aware of the urgency and necessity of adhering to multilateralism and deepening international cooperation. It is increasingly recognized that supporting the WHO is supporting multilateralism and maintaining the unity of the international community in the fight against the pandemic.

Viruses are a common enemy of mankind, targeting at all human beings, countries and regions. Therefore, the sharpest weapon against it is solidarity.

Strengthening solidarity, coordination and cooperation under multilateral frameworks is the only solution for the international community to jointly conquer the challenges posed by the pandemic and safeguard the world.

As a specialized agency responsible for public health affairs within the United Nations system, the WHO upholds a science-based, objective and impartial position and actively guides and assists countries in responding to the pandemic, making important contributions to promoting international cooperation in combating the pandemic, and building a professional multilateral platform for all countries to help each other through cooperation.

Fighting the pandemic requires the WHO to play its due role. Therefore, the organization must be supported. This is an international consensus and conforms to the common interests of all countries.

Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapon for the international community to overcome the pandemic, and they can’t be overemphasized.

At a recent special summit of the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) on COVID-19, participating leaders agreed that countries should work closely with the WHO and the international community to jointly safeguard global public health security.

The Group of 77 coalition of developing nations and China issued a statement on April 19, acknowledging the leading role of the WHO in responding to the pandemic and calling on the international community to strengthen solidarity and enhance their support for the WHO.

Other organizations such as the UN General Assembly, the European Union, the African Union, and the Alliance for Multilateralism have also recently voiced support for the WHO in coordinating the international community to fight the pandemic.

Most of the countries in the world can see it that only a more stable mansion of multilateralism can bring more hope to finally defeat the virus.

When the shared future of mankind meets severe challenges, all human being shall take their responsibility together. There is no reason to pass the buck, and every country must work to tackle the challenges. All parties shall uphold the vision of building a community with a shared future, maintain and safeguard multilateralism, and cope with the pandemic with confidence, unity, and cooperation.

At the critical moment when human destiny is facing severe challenges, China always upholds the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, advocates and practices multilateralism, and actively carries out international cooperation to fight the pandemic.

It firmly supports the leading role of the UN and the WHO and actively coordinates the international community to fight COVID-19, injecting strong positive energy into the global containment efforts.

China has maintained close communication and cooperation with the WHO and shared information with the organization and the international society in an open, transparent and responsible manner. The country released the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus at the first opportunity and shared its experience on prevention, control and treatment with the WHO and the international society. In addition, it has donated $20 million to the WHO to support it in carrying out international cooperation in fighting COVID-19.

At the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders' Summit on COVID-19, China called on countries to support WHO’s leadership role, and put forward a number of specific initiatives to strengthen multilateral cooperation. With the joint efforts of all parties, practical initiatives are being implemented.

Adhering to multilateralism and supporting the effective functioning of multilateral institutions is not only a just move to maintain international order and rules, but also a concrete action to provide support for developing countries with vulnerable public health systems, which is in the global common interests.

The leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Canada have unanimously emphasized and called for strengthening international cooperation in response to the outbreak, and expressed their high recognition and full support for the WHO. Facts tell that in the anti-pandemic action concerning the safety and health of the people around the world, the conducts of certain Western countries undermining unity and cooperation will eventually find no support.

Fighting the pandemic is not only a contest between human beings and disease, but also one between multilateralism and unilateralism. This is a key test. Only by adhering to the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and firmly grasping the most powerful weapon of solidarity and cooperation can mankind overcome the pandemic. To make the mansion of multilateralism more stable, all countries should make the correct choice.