To focus solely on border security is narrow-minded. Finger pointing in a global crisis is short-sighted. Infectious diseases constitute challenges far beyond the realm of medical science and the borders of any single country. They test our global conceptions and mindset.
The U.S. should have learned from the experience in South Korea and Italy that the virus could cross borders and spread within countries, but they did not and wasted the month of February.
Dismantling global value chains under the myopic guise of punishment, fear of vulnerability, or nationalism would not only be a rejection of the positive benefits of globalization but it would deny a coronavirus-torn world both the spirit and collaborative opportunities that are so desperately needed today.
It seems that any recovery from the pandemic slump in Europe and the U.S. will be more drawn out, with expansion below the previous trend for many years to come. If so, it will become another chapter in the long depression we experienced over the last ten years.
These are evidences showing that the scientific community in the U.S. has known about the virus almost the same time when the Chinese doctors and scientists discovered it.
China should also speed up the implementation of free trade agreements with major countries and neighboring regions.
Whether or not we fail to cooperate on trade and security, global warming or COVID-19, the clearest lessons we ought to draw at this moment is that “we have met the enemy and he is us.” It’s not China.
It comes to no one’s surprise that China is also being publicly targeted.
The all-weather partnership between China and Africa, supporting each other, has been tested by all kinds of storm in the history of more than half a century, and it is impossible to plunge into a “crisis” simply because of the poor performance of some media coverage and the ridiculous remarks of some politicians.
It is clear that opening up the country is not an easy process even after the spread of coronavirus is brought under control.
It is still too early to predict how the future of the educational system would look like. Yet, the pandemic has undoubtedly affected the current teaching style in a sweeping manner and given educators around the world ample time and space to think about the alternative educational models.
Wuhan was the first to confront the COVID-19 outbreak. Other metropolises like New York and Tokyo are equally vulnerable to the pandemic. It seems that the novel coronavirus is testing the medical capability of all global cities.
