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Opinion | How the US and China can renew the spirit of cooperation to improve world health and the WHO
- Seeing China as a burden on world health rather than a contributor of solutions or dismissing the ‘Health Silk Road’ as a geopolitical ploy are not helpful
- It would be wiser for the US – and China – to view global health more as a public good and less as an extension of development aid
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Now that President Joe Biden has restored American membership in the World Health Organization, can the United States and China find renewed impetus for cooperation on global health? Certainly, Beijing and Washington should work together to improve their respective public health situations. Making it easier for institutions such as the WHO to address the world’s health challenges is another worthy goal.
The state of US-China relations, however, may make such goals too lofty if some underlying policy conditions are not addressed conscientiously. Former president Donald Trump’s confrontational approach – including in public health – towards China is viewed as a positive achievement by many in the West.
The Biden administration will have to answer the question of what has changed before it can alter course in dealing with China. Meanwhile, China may find itself on the receiving end of initiatives from the US.
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But Covid-19’s continuing ravages present both the US and China with an opportunity not to be wasted. One way to translate rationale into action is to begin by examining the very notion of global health.
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WHO health experts arrive in Covid-19 epicentre Wuhan to investigate origins of coronavirus
WHO health experts arrive in Covid-19 epicentre Wuhan to investigate origins of coronavirus
The term “global health” started to gain currency in the 1970s, as an extension of concern about global population problems. For decades, global health was part of the West’s broader development aid strategy, to improve health in nations needing economic development.
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