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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Coronavirus: Chinese academics’ open letter urges Beijing, Washington to come together to beat Covid-19

  • ‘As two of the great countries on Earth, cooperation between China and the US could, and should, be used to bring a more positive outcome for all humankind,’ academics say
  • ‘Political bickering does nothing to contribute to the healthy development of Sino-US relations, nor will it help the people of the world to rationally and accurately understand and cope with the pandemic,’ they say

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Chinese academics have urged nations to cooperate to find a solution to the global public health crisis. Photo: AFP
Catherine WongandLiu Zhen
A group of 100 Chinese scholars has signed an open letter calling on the United States and China to put an end to their political blame game and work together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The signatories, who include former diplomats and academics from various fields, including political science, international relations and sociology, said that while the origins of the coronavirus remained unknown, hurling accusations achieved nothing but hurt.

Nations should stop “complaining, finger-pointing and blaming one another” and instead cooperate to find a solution to the global public health crisis, they said.

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“Political bickering does nothing to contribute to the healthy development of Sino-US relations, nor will it help the people of the world to rationally and accurately understand and cope with the pandemic,” the scholars said in the letter published on Thursday in online news magazine The Diplomat.

“As two of the great countries on Earth, cooperation between China and the US could, and should, be used to bring a more positive outcome for all humankind,” it said.

The scholars also urged the two sides to put aside their bickering over where and how the disease originated.

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