by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a powerful signal in encouraging international cooperation and information sharing in his statement delivered at an extraordinary G20 leaders' summit on COVID-19, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said Thursday.
"He's demonstrated China's commitment to work with other nations to deal with this challenge" of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Lowcock, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in an interview with Xinhua via video-link.
"I read also President Xi Jinping's important statement and he of course frames it in the context of working together," he said. "This is a disease that threatens the whole of humanity. Nobody will be safe from this disease until everybody is safe from it."
He said the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19 held Thursday via video-link marked a "step in the right direction."
"The emphasis that President Xi put on every country -- mobilizing the whole nation, was important," said Lowcock.
Lowcock also hailed Xi's appeal for taking measures to support the global economy and related international organizations working to contain the pandemic.
"What he said about the leading role of the World Health Organization, in particular, from my point of view, was much to be welcomed," the senior UN official added, referring to Xi's call for better information sharing and policy coordination with the WHO's support.
"Because China is such an important player in the world economy, what President Xi said in terms of supporting the global economy, keeping supply chains open, promoting macro-economic coordination, are very important," Lowcock said.
Speaking of China's anti-virus efforts, Lowcock said he is "pleased to see that China has been able so far largely to contain the virus."
Talking about the measures that China has taken, Lowcock said that he "was encouraged to see that some of the measures that had been put in place in Wuhan (city) and Hubei (province)," the hardest-hit places in China.
"We can see extraordinary measures being taken to deal with public health services, to test people, to trace them, to treat them, but then to keep people far enough apart, so that the pandemic doesn't get out of control," he said.
Referring to the economy, Lowcock said that he has heard that the Chinese economy is "getting back going again to the normal extent," particularly on manufacturing and supply of key products.
All the measures to support the economy, which President Xi placed important emphasis on, are "very important," the UN humanitarian chief said.
"That's an important contribution both to fighting the pandemic and to keeping the global economy moving," he noted.
