China supports the World Health Organisation (WHO) in establishing a review committee to evaluate global responses to Covid-19 at a proper time when the pandemic is over, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing that China supports the proposed committee’s future work in summarising anti-contagion experiences and deficiencies from around the world in an open, transparent and inclusive way to make recommendations on strengthening the WHO’s work, promoting capacity building of public health in various countries and improving the global capacity to deal with future pandemics.

China has maintained close contact with the WHO, Hua said, adding that the organisation must set up such a committee to assess major pandemics following the international health regulations to improve global preparedness for public health crises.

Some countries are curbing the virus according to their situations, she said, adding that China’s battle against the virus has achieved good results.

On April 23, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang announced that China had decided to donate another $30 million to the WHO for containing Covid-19 and supporting developing countries in improving their health systems.

Speaking at a daily news conference, he said the world is at a crucial stage in fighting the pandemic, and support for the WHO means defending multilateralism and upholding the authority of the UN.

China previously donated $20 million to the WHO for tackling the virus, he said. China’s donation shows the support that the Chinese government and people have for the WHO, as well as their trust in the organisation.

Since the outbreak started, the WHO has been carrying out its duty, adhering to an objective, fair and scientific position, and has played an important part in coordinating efforts among countries and promoting international cooperation to control the pandemic, he said.

The decision came in less than two weeks after the US announced it would temporarily stop funding the WHO, while many other countries have voiced their support for the organisation.

A survey released on Wednesday found that of approximately 12,500 people from 23 countries who rated their governments’ coronavirus containment efforts, China ranked highest with 85 per cent of respondents believing that the country will emerge stronger from the crisis.

On the other hand, only 41 per cent of respondents from the US were happy with their leaders and just 16 per cent in Japan.

The research, conducted from April 3-19 by Singapore’s social research agency Blackbox Research Pte Ltd and international online panel specialist Toluna, used four key performance indicators – national political leadership, corporate leadership, community and media.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua said China believes all countries should promote mutual understanding and exchanges when confronting the coronavirus, respect efforts made by others and learn from each other’s useful experiences.

China is willing to continue sharing information regarding the virus with other countries and discuss its experiences and useful practices in anti-epidemic work to effectively carry out cooperation, she said.

In an article on Wednesday, China Daily staff reporter Ke Meng called for mutual empathy and collective action among nations and peoples from diverse social and political backgrounds in the global fight against the pandemic, under what he called an “empathetic norm”.

Ke said: “Such an ‘empathetic norm’ cannot be derived from the move to stop funding the World Health Organisation during the current crises, or from accusing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates of treason when he decided to provide an additional donation to the WHO.

“It has to be rooted in the idea that treats the human race as a community with a shared future, as exemplified by China’s global response to Covid-19.

“Indeed, the pandemic is a reminder that in the words of the English poet John Donne: ‘No man is an island entire of itself – every man is a piece of the continent.’ The world is like this. It deserves to be treated like this,” said Ke.

However, Taiwan’s participation in events of international organisations – including the WHO – must be handled based on the One-China principle, Xinhua News Agency reported State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang as saying on Thursday.

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China, Ma said, adding that there is no such issue of Taiwan joining the UN.

CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK