China, US should join hands in fighting COVID-19, says senior diplomat

China and the United States should work together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and lead countries through the crisis, a senior diplomat said on Saturday.

Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping made the remarks while delivering a speech at a video conference held by the Schiller Institute, which was attended by around 2,500 people from all walks of life.

Huang said that through hard work and great sacrifice, China has become one of the first countries to control the pandemic domestically as local transmission of virus has been basically under control. Meanwhile, China has made coordinated efforts to restore the economic and social order, contributing to bringing the global economy back on track.

China has also actively joined the international cooperation in fighting the pandemic in an open, transparent and responsible manner, donating and exporting billions of face masks, thousands of ventilators and sending groups of medical experts to assist countries around the world, he said.

Though China-US relations have been faced with difficulties in recent years, the two largest economies should abandon their differences on various issues and focus on cooperation at this moment for the well-being of all humanity, said Huang.

As infectious diseases like COVID-19 could break out in any country or any ethnic group, any kind of scapegoating, racial discrimination and xenophobia should be prevented, as they won't help countries cope with the current pandemic or other global challenges in the future, said the consul general.

Noting the deep friendship between the Chinese and American people that is highlighted during the pandemic, Huang said that as China was experiencing the peak of the outbreak earlier this year, people from all walks of life in the United States have extended a helping hand.

Now the United States has become the hardest-hit country, China is not looking on with indifference, he added.

According to preliminary statistics, China has provided the United States with more than 2.46 billion masks, some 5,000 ventilators, 258 million pairs of gloves, 29.2 million pieces of medical gowns and 3.13 million pairs of goggles.

Huang voiced confidence that the friendship between the two peoples will grow stronger after this battle against COVID-19, and the two governments need to develop bilateral ties in accordance with the will of the people, he added.