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In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, most members of the international community emphasized the common interests and responsibilities of mankind, and believed that the most urgent task at present was to jointly safeguard human life safety and health. It became the consensus of the international community that all countries should join hands to fight against the epidemic. The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and many countries have a deeper understanding of the reality, urgency, and timeliness of practicing multilateralism. The international community needs to make efforts to turn crises into opportunities, and accelerate the reform and improvement of the global governance system by taking the construction of the global public health governance mechanism as the starting point.
President Xi Jinping pointed out that "the epidemic has brought us a series of profound enlightenment. The destinies of all countries are closely linked, and mankind is a community of shared destiny." At present, the COVID-19 epidemic is still spreading around the world, posing a serious threat to human life and health. The world under the impact of the epidemic is undergoing profound changes and faces more unstable and uncertain factors. In this epidemic prevention and control struggle, which is critical to human health and well-being and the development and prosperity of the world, solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons, and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind is the right path on earth. All countries should replace differences with unity, eliminate prejudice with reason, pool a strong joint force to fight the epidemic, unite to fight the epidemic, overcome difficulties and safeguard the common homeland of mankind.
Cooperation is the inevitable choice for mankind to deal with the crisis
The COVID-19 epidemic has spread to more than 200 countries and regions around the world. The epidemic has not only claimed hundreds of thousands of precious lives and seriously threatened human health, but also increased the risks of the world economy downturn, social governance crisis, and world instability and uncertainty. This epidemic is a serious non-traditional security threat facing mankind.
In response to this major infectious disease, China has always adhered to the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and strengthened international cooperation; Most members of the international community emphasize the common interests and responsibilities of mankind and believe that it is the most urgent task at present to jointly safeguard the life safety and health of all mankind. The international community has strengthened its cooperation and enhanced its awareness of common destiny. Many countries have made efforts to turn crisis into opportunity, strengthened information communication, policy coordination and action coordination, and made efforts to promote the reform and improvement of the international governance mechanism and global governance system.
Entering the 21st century, the security situation facing mankind is more turbulent and complex, traditional security threats and non-traditional security threats are intertwined, and the connotation and extension of security issues are further expanded. As far as epidemic diseases are concerned, Ebola virus, Zika virus, H1N1 influenza, COVID-19 and other epidemics have occurred in the world. International terrorist events and financial crises have also occurred many times, and non-traditional security threats have become serious challenges that human beings need to face. At the same time, the interests of all countries are more and more integrated, and no country can cope with the challenges facing mankind alone, nor can any country return to a self enclosed island. To safeguard the common homeland of mankind, all countries need to strengthen cooperation and work together to meet challenges.
In the face of viruses, the common enemy of mankind, the international community has learned from past experiences in dealing with non-traditional security threats and further strengthened solidarity and cooperation in combating the epidemic. The G20 special summit on coping with COVID-19 held on March 26 this year, the special meeting of leaders of ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea on combating COVID-19 held on April 14, the video conference of the 73rd World Health Assembly held on May 18, the special summit of China Africa solidarity on combating COVID-19 held on June 17, and the "Belt and Road" held on June 18 High level video conferences on international cooperation are all important conferences for the international community to unite to fight the epidemic and overcome difficulties. President Xi Jinping pointed out in his keynote speech at the special summit of the China Africa Solidarity Anti epidemic Summit: "We should adhere to the supremacy of people and life, coordinate resources, unite and cooperate, do our best to protect people's life safety and health, and minimize the negative impact of the epidemic." At present, the global epidemic prevention and control situation is still grim and complex, and the international community in particular needs to strengthen cooperation, Gather strong forces to overcome the epidemic.
The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has become more popular
The occurrence of COVID-19 and a series of global actions taken to combat the epidemic have a significant impact on the current world situation and the future security and development of mankind. This influence is not only reflected in international relations, but also in ideas, concepts and other aspects.
Emerging market countries and developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in international affairs due to their rapid development and growing international influence. Under the new situation, power politics, cold war thinking and zero sum game are no longer feasible. Multilateralism, in which all countries participate in international affairs on an equal footing and resolve differences through consultation and dialogue, has become the consensus of the international community.
In today's world, material wealth is accumulating, scientific and technological progress is changing with each passing day, and human civilization is developing to a higher level. Peace, development, cooperation, and win-win are irresistible trends of the times. For people all over the world, life safety and health are basic needs, and it is eagerly expected to live a better life and share the fruits of economic globalization. In the face of the sudden COVID-19 epidemic, the lives and health of people in many countries are threatened. The first priority in combating the epidemic is to protect and save lives. At a series of recent international conferences, many countries have expressed their commitment to protecting people and lives. China, together with some emerging market countries and developing countries, has firmly focused on issues such as development and people's livelihood, and proposed to build a community of human health and create a better life and a safe and healthy life. These initiatives have had a broad impact. At the special summit on China Africa solidarity against the epidemic, President Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must unswervingly practice multilateralism. Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapon to fight against the epidemic. China is willing to work with Africa to uphold the global governance system with the United Nations at its core and support WHO to make greater contributions to the global fight against the epidemic. We are opposed to politicizing the epidemic, labeling the virus, combating racial discrimination and ideological prejudice, and firmly safeguarding international fairness and justice. "
Human beings live in the same global village. Countries are interdependent, share a common destiny, and increasingly become a community of shared destiny. Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind is China's proposition and China's plan for mankind to meet common challenges. This idea has been written into United Nations documents for many times and has been welcomed and recognized by the international community. In an interconnected world, major infectious diseases will pose a threat to the entire human society no matter where they occur. To deal with such major infectious diseases as COVID-19, all countries need to discuss how to deal with them, strengthen information sharing, carry out joint prevention and control, and gather their efforts to speed up scientific research on drugs, vaccines, testing and other aspects. The United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Group of Twenty, ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea and other multilateral organizations play an important role in sharing epidemic information, coordinating national anti epidemic actions, and assisting countries with weak health systems. In the face of the epidemic, what the human society needs is cooperation rather than unilateral action, shared responsibility rather than going it alone, mutual help rather than mutual constraints.
In his congratulatory letter to the special session of the China Arab Political Parties Dialogue, President Xi Jinping stressed: "This epidemic once again shows that mankind is a community of shared destiny." To deal with the epidemic that does not recognize borders and races, it is not enough to rely on the strength of one country or several countries alone. Only standing on the height of a community of shared future for mankind can work together to fight the epidemic and overcome difficulties, In order to effectively contain the epidemic. At an important moment in the global fight against the epidemic, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is increasingly showing its great value and significance in safeguarding and promoting the survival and development of the entire human race. In the arduous struggle against the epidemic, countries are increasingly aware of their mutual connection and interdependence, and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Continue to promote the reform and improvement of the global governance system
The epidemic has exposed some weaknesses in the global governance system. More and more countries deeply feel the reality and severity of non-traditional security threats, and further realize that the zero sum game thinking and practice cannot solve the current challenges. Therefore, the international community needs to make efforts to turn the crisis into an opportunity and take the construction of the global public health governance mechanism as an opportunity to accelerate the reform and improvement of the global governance system. The international community needs to work together to deal with non-traditional security threats such as terrorism, cyber security, major infectious diseases, climate change, and constantly innovate the international governance mechanism to better serve the current and future global affairs.
In the face of the epidemic, we actively support relevant international organizations to play their roles, continue to make good use of various international organization platforms, strengthen information sharing, experience exchange, technical cooperation and policy coordination, and make contributions to the global fight against the epidemic. International summits and the diplomatic mechanism of heads of state are playing an increasingly prominent role. With the convenience of transportation and communication, this mechanism developed continuously at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. At present, the increase in global affairs and the special situation of the epidemic situation have given birth to the video diplomacy of heads of state, which is of innovative significance for international relations and global governance. In addition, because the epidemic is closely related to everyone's life safety and health, people from all over the world use instant messaging tools to communicate directly outside the channels of governments and non-governmental organizations, forming a new form of communication between people in different countries. This shows that the form of diplomatic activities is undergoing institutional changes, and the actors of international relations will be more diverse in the future.
The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have always put people's safety and health first, and launched a people's war, a general war, and a war of resistance against the epidemic. After painstaking efforts and huge costs, China's epidemic prevention and control campaign has achieved significant strategic results, but it still needs to continue to focus on the import of external defense and the rebound of internal defense. China has received support from many countries and people in the difficult time of fighting against the epidemic. China has also actively repaid the international community and provided help to many countries within its capacity. The concept of cooperation that China has long adhered to has been fully demonstrated in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and the correct concept of justice and benefit advocated and practiced has also won praise from the international community. China's solidarity and cooperation with different countries in the world in combating the epidemic have enriched the connotation of contemporary international relations and revealed the direction of the international community.
Human society often moves forward in twists and turns, and there is still a long way to go to build a more just and reasonable international governance mechanism. In the global fight against the epidemic, solidarity and cooperation have become the mainstream of the international community. But there are also some countries that set artificial barriers and barriers to international cooperation, and engage in stigma and politicized operations on the epidemic problem. In this regard, many countries, international organizations and international personages have called for the international community to work together to prevent discrimination and stigmatization. From the perspective of development, the valuable consensus and cooperative actions of the international community in combating the epidemic are important ideological resources and practices for building a community with a shared future for mankind. Risks and challenges will always accompany the progress of human society. The world will strengthen cooperation in meeting challenges again and again, and the global governance system will be more perfect in constantly responding to the needs of the times. As long as all countries work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, they will certainly be able to create a better future for human civilization.
(The author is a researcher of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and director of the Academic Committee)
People's Daily (July 9, 2020, version 09)
