Chinese people have put up an unprecedented battle against the outbreak of the rare epidemic of novel coronavirus, namely COVID-19 since Wuhan was locked down on January 23rd . The most rigorous measures have been taken to prevent and contain the spread of this virus. As the epicenter, Wuhan city and Hubei province have been closed for more than 50 days till now. But we can hardly see any chaos or panic there, instead, the local people’s life is secure and orderly. The epidemic in China has been effectively contained and controlled, and normal production and life has been slowly resumed. As a matter of fact, daily added confirmed cases and death cases have drastically dropped from thousands to dozens in Wuhan in recent week. And in other provinces of China, even the areas in Hubei province outside of Wuhan, newly confirmed cases and death cases are close to zero. Under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government, and with the full cooperation and unity of the Chinese people, the battle against novel COVID-19 in China is fast approaching a final and complete victory.

However, the situation of the epidemic out of China is alarming with the epidemic breaking out in multiple places around the world and spreading to wider areas. According to the daily report of the World Health Organization, in the past week, daily confirmed cases out of China have gone above 3000, a number nearly a hundred times of China, and accounting for more than 95% of the total newly confirmed cases in the whole world. WHO also indicated that as for March 10, novel coronavirus has spread to 109 countries in the world, with a total cases over 110,000. The threat of a global pandemic is rising as the novel coronavirus rapidly spreads across the world from Asia, to Europe, the Middle East and and all the continents.

A couple days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed thanks on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and the country when he inspected the front-line prevention and control work in Wuhan. Without the full cooperation and sacrifice of the Wuhan people, we’ll not see the dawn of victory against the epidemic in China. Actually, China and the world owe a thank you to Wuhan and Hubei for China’s severe anti-epidemic measures and hard earned achievements have won a precious window opportunity and provided verified prevention experience for the whole world.

Virus knows no borders and panic, rumors and discrimination could only accelerates its spread. Facts tell us that the COVID-19 outbreak poses both a great threat to the life and health of people and a formidable challenge to global public health security as well. The battle against the epidemic of COVID-19 is by no means the battle of one single country or continent, it calls for the unity of the whole world for swift action, active cooperation and scientific prevention. China’s successful experience against the epidemic tells us that we are seeing the positive effects of these measures, therefore the novel coronavirus can not only be contained, but also eventually defeated.

The epidemic will also inevitably have an huge impact on world's economy. This impact should be viewed from a comprehensive, dialectical and long-term perspective. In an age of economic globalization, countries of the world find themselves invariably associated with one another and sharing the same destiny. China is the second largest economy in the world and an indispensable link in the global industrial chain and supply chain. While mobilizing all forces within the country to combat the epidemic, China is also making the utmost efforts to resume normal economic activities, and remain committed to opening up and deepen international cooperation. China's timely resumption of work and production and the return to normal economic operations also provide strong support and guarantee for the stability and security of the global industrial chain and supply chain, which fully demonstrates China’s strength and responsibility.

Since the epidemic broke out, China has been active in international cooperation, sharing the latest information with countries and regions including African countries and responding to concerns in an open, transparent and highly responsible manner to safeguard regional and international public health security. Throughout this battle, African countries have been standing alongside China, supporting us in various ways. African countries including South Africa are now facing high risks of imported cases and some of them have seen increased confirmed cases. While shoring up our own line of defense, China stands ready to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries, support and help them to the best of our capabilities, and jointly contribute to safeguarding regional and global public health and economic security.

As the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi indicated, the history of civilization is a history of battling diseases. COVID-19 is yet another sobering reminder that in this age of globalization, the futures of countries are closely linked and building a community with a shared future for mankind is the right way to go. China will take our joint response to the epidemic as an opportunity to call for greater international coordination and cooperation to jointly safeguard the Planet, our only home, and build a global village where we all have a stake in each other’s success.