BEIJING, June 8 -- Many overseas observers have agreed that the white paper "Fighting COVID-19: China in Action", released on Sunday by China's State Council Information Office, is of global scientific value for countries to learn from China's experience in fighting the epidemic.
The Chinese government released the white paper to keep a record of the country's own efforts to fight the virus, to share its experience with the rest of the world, and to clarify its ideas on the global battle, according to the white paper.
Lee Hee-ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, said that after the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government's effective governance and strong anti-epidemic measures enabled China to contain the novel coronavirus rapidly.
Noting that China adopted an assistance method of pairing 16 cities in Hubei Province that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 with a Chinese province or municipality, Lee said such an approach has established a robust mutual aid network for epidemic prevention and control.
Besides, the timely opening of makeshift hospitals has made it possible to treat COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms quickly and on a large scale, which has played an important role in blocking the early spread of infectious diseases, Lee added.
From Jan. 24 to March 8, China rallied 346 national medical teams, consisting of 42,600 medical workers and more than 900 public health professionals to the immediate aid of Hubei and the city of Wuhan, said the white paper.
Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said he was impressed by the fact that medical personnel across China travelled to Wuhan to fight the epidemic, adding that only concerted action by the whole society could effectively prevent and control the epidemic.
The white paper also said China has exploited the pioneering role of science and technology and fully applied the results of scientific and technical innovation in its fight against COVID-19.
In its battle against the novel coronavirus, China has always adhered to a scientific attitude and used high-tech means such as big data and artificial intelligence, Lins said.
China's white paper on the country's battle against COVID-19 is an invaluable scientific and medical resource, said Alfredo Bruno, head of the National Reference Center of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses at Ecuador's National Institute for Public Health Research.
"From the beginning, China strove to swiftly detect the virus and genetically sequence it," Bruno said, noting China's National Genomics Data Center posted that information on a global genome data bank.
"That allowed every country to be able to develop the diagnostic tools that in turn allowed them to rapidly detect the novel coronavirus, in contrast to other epidemics," the expert said.
On international cooperation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the white paper said China calls for building a global community of health for all.
Countries should support each other and join hands to contain the spread of the virus, and protect the health and wellbeing of people across the globe, said the white paper.
Bruno praised China's donations to many countries impacted by the pandemic as having "been of great help."
He said he "completely agree(s)" with China's call for greater global cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The only way we can tackle it is for all of us to unite regardless of political beliefs and social conditions," said Bruno.