Daily Times

It is certain now that the COVID-19 pandemic has winded the whole globe. What started from just one city, has now shadowed the whole world. As these words are being written, cases increase in the world. However, there is a country whose defiance against the COVID-19 pandemic has been successful.

Despite the fact that the virus’s epicenter was Wuhan, China still managed to control it while the rest of the world still crippling to get hold of the loosen cords of COVID-19. Though the rest of the world is still in a quarrel with the pandemic, life in China is cautiously returning to normalcy. Even in Wuhan, the city worst hit by the pandemic, infection-free zones are feeling the resurgence of life. All of this has not been achieved overnight for this whole of the country faced excruciating measures, including a major blow to its economy. The whole country unified against the pandemic. Purchasing Managers Index measures the economic activity based on orders company place to suppliers in a country. For the Chinese industry, the index reported 35.7 for the month of February which is the lowest since the index was created. To clarify further, the figures below 50 imply a recession.

China is not only combating COVID-19 at home but abroad as well in the form of sending aid even though it has faced a fall in its economy. Italy, Iran, Serbia, Pakistan and many more are on the list that are getting direct assistance from Beijing.

The world has come face-to-face with the global non-traditional threat while Donald Trump seems to be solidifying his election campaign by blaming China

While China is playing a responsible global role in the fight against this pandemic, Washington seems to be gambling with the lives of people of its own. Lately, Washington post revealed that internal reports from January and February clearly warned about the pandemic. While deaths in the US are 2,238 (on March 29), the Trump administration seems to be engaged in playing its political cards on the deck of the coronavirus. Blaming China and tightening the sanctions seem to the top priority rather than engaging resources on fighting the pandemic. Recently, CNN reported that Trump rolled out 33 false claims in the first two weeks of the month of March regarding the coronavirus crisis. It reported that overall Trump made 71 false claims in past two weeks. Out of these 71, 33 were related to coronavirus.

The world has come face-to-face with the global non-traditional threat while Donald Trump seems to be solidifying his election campaign by blaming China. Trump calling COVID-19 as China’s virus seems to be true because what the evolving scenario depicts that Washington has withdrawn from its global role and China is the only one concerned globally with the pandemic. Despite taking global initiatives for cure, the White House seems to be doing parochial politics over the global pandemic which clearly shows how ignorant is the Trump administration towards the global health crisis. Furthermore, Trump has even tried to buy exclusive rights from a medical company in Germany on the antidote of COVID-19 in order to capitalize on the remedy. By tightening sanctions on Tehran and not letting it to do the due course to save lives what oval seems to be doing is bringing more agony to global misery.

As the xenophobic and racist attitude of Washington continues, the world is being driven into more dark realms. Furthermore, Trump’s mouthpieces at Fox News and other media outlets have adopted the same manner as their masters are doing and repeatedly have claimed that China should apologize. On the other hand, the world, including President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, is all praise for China on how China has fought the novel virus and has successfully reduced the number of new cases of the disease to zero.

It is high time to appreciate China by putting political difference aside and learn from their experiences as they are the one with most experienced and have successfully battled. Whatever has caused this pandemic China has been successful in curtailing it and countries which are finding themselves paralyzed by this disease shall use assistance from China to overcome this global malady.

The writer is a research associate at the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution