Time for Cooperation and Solidarity Against COVID-19, Rather than Political Manipulation
摒弃政治操弄，团结合作抗疫
Mr. Deng Xijun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN
中国驻东盟大使邓锡军
21 August 2021
2021年8月21日
At present, COVID-19 is still ravaging the world, with its variants creating new waves of infections around the globe. At this critical juncture, all countries around the world should have united as one to fight the virus. However, attention has been distracted from time to time, as certain countries take advantage of COVID-19 origin-tracing to smear others and serve their political agenda.
当前，世界仍处在新冠肺炎疫情大流行之中，疫情起伏反复，病毒频繁变异。在此紧要关头，世界各国本应团结一致抗击疫情，然而个别国家出于政治目的借新冠病毒溯源问题不断发出抹黑中国的不和谐杂音。
At the onset of COVID-19, China reported the latest developments to the WHO at the earliest possible time. Since then, acting on the vision of a global community of health for all, China has shared response experience with the international community in a timely manner, assisted over 150 countries and international organizations with medical supplies to the best of our capability, and led the largest scale of global vaccine cooperation, thus making outstanding contributions to global public health security.
疫情发生以来，中方第一时间向世卫组织报告新冠肺炎病例；秉持人类卫生健康共同体理念，及时同国际社会交流防控经验；力所能及地向世界150多个国家和国际组织提供抗疫物资援助；率先开展全球规模最大的疫苗合作行动，为世界公共卫生安全作出突出贡献。
A scientific approach has been taken by China all along to the global cooperation in science-based origin-tracing. WHO experts were invited twice to China for research. They went to all the places they wanted to go and met all the people they wanted to meet. Then The Joint Report by the WHO-China joint study team was released in March this year, presenting the most authoritative, professional and science-based conclusions on origin-tracing. According to the report, experts concluded that “a laboratory leak is extremely unlikely” and put forward important recommendations, including “searching for possible early cases on a global scale” and “studying the possibility of cold-chain transmission of virus”. The report also sets out detailed recommendations for what should be done to trace the virus in the next step. Chinese experts also took the initiative to submit to the WHO China’s proposal on the second phase of origin-tracing. International experts have fully affirmed China’s openness and transparency during the research process, the outcome of which is the scientific and authoritative report that forms the basis for the next stage of tracing.
中国始终秉着科学态度积极参与全球科学溯源合作，先后两次邀请世卫专家来华开展病毒溯源研究。专家们去了所有想去的地方，见到了所有希望见到的人。世卫组织于今年3月发布了中国—世卫组织新冠病毒溯源联合研究报告，就溯源问题做出最权威、最专业、最科学的结论，做出了“实验室泄漏极不可能”的科学结论，并提出“在全球范围内搜寻可能的早期病例”、“研究冷链传播病毒的可能性”等重要建议，提出今后溯源工作的具体建议。中方专家还主动向世卫组织提交了对第二阶段溯源工作的中国方案。这是一份科学和权威的报告，也是下阶段全球溯源工作的基础。国际专家对中方在病毒溯源问题上展现的开放、透明态度予以充分肯定。
Yet in the meantime, certain countries are obsessed with politically-motivated origin-tracing. They have turned a blind eye to those science-based and authoritative conclusions and spread false information and lies to distort the positions of other countries.
与此同时，个别国家却在大搞政治溯源，无视科学权威的研究结论，肆意散播虚假信息和谎言，悍然歪曲别国立场。
China’s position on global origin-tracing is consistent and clear-cut. First, origin-tracing is a matter of science. It should be and can only be left to scientists to identify, through scientific research, the possible zoonotic source and animal-human transmission routes. No country has the right to put its own political interests above people’s lives, nor should a matter of science be politicized for the purpose of slandering and attacking others.
中方对全球溯源问题的立场是一贯的、明确的。第一，新冠病毒溯源是科学问题，应该也只能由科学家研究找到病毒的动物源头和向人类传播的途径，任何国家都无权为一己政治私利而漠视生命、将科学问题政治化或对别国进行抹黑攻击。
Second, the findings and recommendations of the WHO-China joint study report are widely recognized by the international community, especially scientists, and must be respected and implemented by all parties including the WHO. Going forward, global origin-tracing should and must proceed from that basis, instead of reinventing the wheel.
第二，中国—世卫组织联合研究报告得出了国际社会和科学界公认的结论和建议，必须得到包括世卫组织在内的各方尊重和实施。今后全球溯源工作应该也只能在此基础上开展，而不是另起炉灶。
Third, China has all along supported and will continue to take part in science-based origin-tracing efforts. What China opposes is politicizing origin-tracing, or origin-tracing that goes against the WHA resolutions and disregards the joint study report.
第三，中方始终支持并将继续参加科学溯源，我们反对的是政治溯源，违背世卫大会决议的溯源，以及抛弃中国—世卫组织联合研究报告的溯源。
Fourth, the WHO Secretariat should act on the WHA resolutions, conduct thorough consultation with member states on the global origin-tracing work plan, including the follow-up mechanism, and fully respect the views of member states. Very importantly, the plan for origin-tracing involving a particular country must be decided through consultation with the country concerned, as it provides the basis for effective cooperation.
第四，世卫组织秘书处应按照世卫大会决议要求，就全球溯源工作计划、包括后续机制同成员国充分协商，充分尊重成员国意见，对当事国的溯源计划更应同当事国协商确定，在此基础上有效开展合作。
Origin-tracing cooperation must be based on science, and politicization must be firmly rejected. The politicization of origins study by some countries has been generally opposed by fair-minded people. Nearly 80 countries, including multiple ASEAN Member States, have recently expressed support for the WHO-China joint study report and opposed politicization of origin-tracing by sending letters to the WHO Director-General and issuing statements and diplomatic notes. Organizations in the civil society, think tanks and over 300 political parties from more than 100 countries and regions submitted a Joint Statement to the WHO Secretariat, calling on the WHO to conduct the study on COVID-19 origin-tracing objectively and fairly, and firmly opposing politicization. The legitimate appeal and voice of justice from the international community shall be heard.
溯源合作必须坚持科学的方向，必须坚决反对政治化。个别国家将科学溯源政治化的行为遭到了世界各国主持正义的有识之士普遍反对。近期，包括不少东盟国家在内的近80个国家纷纷通过致函世卫组织总干事、发表声明、照会等方式反对溯源问题政治化，支持中国—世卫组织溯源联合研究报告。世界上100多个国家和地区300多个政党、社会组织和智库向世界卫生组织秘书处提交《联合声明》，呼吁世卫组织客观公正地开展全球新冠病毒溯源研究，坚决反对将溯源问题政治化。这是国际社会的合理诉求和正义之声。
Virus knows no borders and does not distinguish between races. China, like other countries, is a victim of the pandemic and hopes to find out the origin and cut off its transmission as early as possible. Given the ongoing spread and rebound of the virus, the priority remains to be stepping up equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and enhancing solidarity and cooperation.
病毒没有国界，疫情不分种族。中国和世界各国一样，都是疫情的受害者，都希望尽快找到病毒源头，及早阻断疫情传播。当前疫情反复蔓延，加大疫苗公平分配，团结合作抗击疫情仍是当务之急。
China firmly supports efforts to make COVID-19 vaccines global public goods, opposes “vaccine nationalism” and rejects attempts to create a “vaccine divide”. To help ASEAN put the pandemic under control as quickly as possible, China has been overcoming difficulties to increase vaccine cooperation and aid with ASEAN. To date, China has provided all ASEAN member states with a total of 190 million COVID-19 vaccines and worked on vaccine trials with Indonesia and several other ASEAN countries. China shares with ASEAN technologies and experience and supports ASEAN countries in building regional vaccine production and distribution centers.
中方坚定秉持疫苗公共产品的“第一属性”，明确反对搞“疫苗民族主义”，不接受制造“免疫鸿沟”。为帮助东盟国家尽快控制疫情，中方克服自身困难，积极推进对东盟疫苗合作与援助。中方迄已向所有东盟国家提供了1.9亿剂新冠疫苗产品，并与印尼等国家积极开展疫苗临床试验，分享技术和经验，支持各方共同打造区域疫苗生产和分配中心。
At the multilateral level, China has pledged to contribute 10 million doses of vaccines to the WHO-led COVAX program. As President Xi Jinping pledged a few days ago in his written message to the International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation, China will strive to provide 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to the world throughout this year and offer 100 million US dollars to COVAX that will be distributed to developing countries, including ASEAN countries.
在多边层面，中国承诺向世卫组织牵头成立的“新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划”提供1000万剂疫苗。中国国家主席习近平在向近日举行的新冠疫苗合作国际论坛书面致辞中承诺，今年全年中国将努力向全球提供20亿剂疫苗，决定向COVAX捐赠1亿美元，用于向发展中国家分配疫苗。相信大部分东盟国家将从中受益。
In China’s vaccine cooperation with ASEAN, no geopolitical agenda is pursued, no economic gains are vied for, and no political conditions are attached. It is all about making the vaccines global public goods accessible and affordable to the people in ASEAN, so that ASEAN prevails over the pandemic once and for all and as early as possible. Going forward, China-ASEAN anti-pandemic cooperation will inject new impetus to China-ASEAN relations and bring about an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
中方同东盟国家开展新冠疫苗国际合作，不谋求任何地缘政治目标，不盘算获取任何经济利益，也不附加任何政治条件。我们的目的是让疫苗成为东盟各国人民用得上、用得起的公共产品，让疫苗尽早发挥威力、彻底战胜疫情。相信此次抗击新冠疫情合作必将为中国—东盟战略伙伴关系注入新内涵，推动中国—东盟命运共同体迈上更高水平。
The pandemic has also unveiled shortcomings and loopholes in the global governance system of public health, sounding alarm for the international community. It won’t be the last public health emergency in our global village. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the international community to be guided by the vision of building a global community with a shared future, reject political manipulation and jointly tackle challenges for the benefit of all.
新冠肺炎疫情的发生表明，全球公共卫生治理体系仍存在不少短板和漏洞，国际社会应该共同为实现全球公共卫生安全贡献力量。在全球化时代，这样的重大突发事件不会是最后一次，国际社会必须树立人类命运共同体意识，摒弃政治操弄和干扰，携手应对风险挑战，共建美好地球家园！