Moment of truth: Xi leads war against COVID-19

Global village in joint fight

Viruses respect no borders in the global village. Within weeks, the coronavirus has spread to all continents except Antarctica.

Public health security is a common challenge faced by humanity, and all countries should join hands to cope with it, Xi said.

Since the outbreak, China has actively cooperated and exchanged information with the WHO and other countries, quickly sharing with them the full genome sequences of the new virus after the pathogen was identified on Jan 7.

Tedros has on many occasions commended China for its serious measures to contain the virus, saying the measures not only protected the Chinese people but also gained time for other countries to gear up their response.

In a little more than a month, Xi talked over phone with 14 foreign leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and US President Donald Trump, and met with Tedros, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga in Beijing, stressing international cooperation in combating the epidemic.

More foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin sent telegrams or issued statements. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaders from more than 170 countries and 40 international or regional organizations voiced support for China.

Xi said China adheres to the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity as it actively contributes to safeguarding global public health while going all out to protect its people's life and health.

The WHO's Aylward said the tremendous collective will of the Chinese people helped gain a few weeks that were "so important" for the world. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed gratitude to Chinese who sacrificed many aspects of their normal life to prevent the spread of the virus.

To help the global fight against COVID-19, China made a donation to the WHO, provided masks and protective gowns to the Republic of Korea, sent testing kits to Pakistan, Japan, Iran and the African Union, and dispatched experts to Iran.