Phnom Penh (FN), Aug. 17 – The Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian on Monday gave an interview with Fresh News on fighting COVID19.
Lim Chea Vutha's first question: First, as the world knows, China is the first to be infected. However, China can effectively curb the pandemic. Please share with us the strengths and measures set out by China to successfully fight the deadly virus.
Ambassador's first answer: One thing to straighten out first: China was the first country to report COVID19 cases, which does not automatically translate to the country of origin. There is growing evidence that both the United States and Europe had suspected COVID19 cases before China first reported and identified the virus. It wasn’t reported elsewhere doesn’t rule out the possibility of existence, nor should the first country to report be scapegoated, lest no country in the future muster the courage to do the right thing.
Origin-tracing is a serious scientific matter, one whose conclusion could not be jumped to, nor imposed on, even less politicized.
China had succeeded in controlling the spread of COVID19 in a short time and playing a leading role in the global fight against the COVID19. There are three major aspects to it.
First and foremost is strong leadership. The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, which have always been prioritizing the well-being, not least health and lives of the people, took swift actions that rallied the whole nation behind the fight against COVID19. The mobilization was thorough and comprehensive to a point that the spread was stamped out in a short time. Many countries in the region, including Cambodia, have also taken decisive measures, in stark contrast with the muddled decision-making, scapegoating and ineffective measures of the United States.
Second is effective measures based on science. China was the first to identify the genetic sequence of the early stage COVID19 virus, the first to introduce a treatment guideline and 14-day quarantine policy, all of which played a key role in thwarting the spread of the virus and most still relevant today. China too was among the first to develop COVID19 vaccines and committed to making vaccines global public good to help countries like Cambodia build immunity barriers when vaccines were most urgently needed. In addition to routine medical treatment, Chinese medicines such as Lianhua Qingwen Capsules and Huashi Baidu Granules, widely used in and outside China, have also played an important role.
Third is the China’s nationwide participation. Following the onset of the COVID19, 1.4 billion Chinese people showed great solidarity to overcome the challenges. From the capital to the countryside, people from all walks of life worked together, putting into full play the ingenuity and strength of the public that has been instrumental in keeping the virus at bay.
Lim Chea Vutha's second question: China is Cambodia’s iron-clad friend who extends grant aids and concessional loans to Cambodia’s infrastructure and human resources development. China has also provided millions of Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines to the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia to curb COVID19 in the Kingdom. In this regard, can you confirm the efficacy of Sinopharm and Sinovac against the new Delta variant? Does China have plan for third-dose roll out? Does China plan to produce COVID19 treatment medicine in the form of pill or capsule?
Ambassador's second answer: China and Cambodia share a time-honoured friendship, from which we have developed an ironclad partnership build upon mutual respect. Since the outbreak of the COVID19, China and Cambodia have been working closely together. Samdech prime minister Hun Sen visited China on February 5 last year, reaffirming strong solidary. When the moment came that Cambodia was in need, the Chinese government and military dispatched to Cambodia the first medical expert team and China was also the first and foremost to supply vaccines to Cambodia, to the tune of over 21 million doses already, in both donations and commercial procurements.
As for the efficacy of vaccines against the Delta variant, according to Zhong Nanshan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the protection effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines against the Delta variant was 100% for severe cases, 76.9%, 67.2% and 63.2% for moderate, mild and asymptomatic cases respectively. That was what we learnt from last May in Guangzhou. Meanwhile, safety and efficacy of Chinese vaccines have been fully demonstrated here. H.E. York Sambath, secretary of state of the ministry of health, said on August 12th when receiving the latest delivery of Chinese vaccines that despite the rampant spread of Delta variant, the number of new cases in Cambodia is not soaring, showing that the Chinese vaccines are very effective against this variant.
For third boost shot, it has been agreed on by scientists from many countries that it helps, but it needs to be administered in a scientific manner, which is being evaluated in China. For mild cases, on the other hand, traditional Chinese medicines such as Lianhua Qingwen Capsule and Huashi Baidu Granules that has been proven effective.
Lim Chea Vutha's third question: the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that COVID19 virus is NOT “man-made”. The reports suggest that the Novel Coronavirus has been circulated undetected months before first COVID19 cases in Wuhan, China. WHO also says COVID19 origin-tracing is a scientific issue not political issues, but some countries still politically manipulate origin-tracing. What are their intentions?
Ambassador's third answer: China has all along taken a scientific attitude as it engages in global cooperation on science-based origin-tracing. China invited WHO experts to China twice for origin-tracing research. In March this year, WHO officially released the Joint Report by the WHO-China joint study team, which provides the most authoritative, professional and science-based conclusions on origin-tracing. It is widely agreed in the international scientific community that it is “extremely unlikely” that the virus leaked from the laboratory.
However, the United States has politicized the pandemic, stigmatized China with terms such as “Wuhan virus”, and weaponized origin-tracing to bash China in order to shift responsibility for their own botched pandemic response and achieve the political purpose of discrediting and containing other countries, which has seriously undermined science-based origin-tracing and global fight against the pandemic. The United States' political manipulation has been widely opposed by the international community. So far, 76 countries have written to the WHO Director-General, emphasizing that origin-tracing of the virus is a scientific matter that should not be politicized and that the China-WHO joint report should be upheld. Politicians, the media, experts, and citizens from many countries have spoken out in various ways, accusing the United States of politicizing the origin-tracing. More than 20 million Chinese people have petitioned the WHO online to investigate safety concerns at the Fort Detrick biological laboratory in the United States. Rumor has it that the United States is putting together a report on the origin-tracing of COVID19 in the near future, we wonder what it would look like other than something fabricated out of thin air. The United States has to recognize that in the face of facts, science and justice, its attempt to politicize origin-tracing is not only against people's shared aspiration, but also doomed to failure. In the end, they will shoot themselves in the foot.
I would like to stress that politicization of origin-tracing is the biggest obstacle to the fight against the pandemic, and that 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 virus's 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 other countries.
Second, the findings and recommendations of the WHO-China joint study report are widely recognized by the international community and scientists, and must be respected and implemented by all parties, including WHO. The future work of global origin-tracing should and must proceed from that basis, instead of reinventing the wheel.
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 resolution and disregards the joint study report.
Fourth, the WHO Secretariat should act on the WHA resolution, 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 to be conducted.
The virus knows no borders and does not distinguish between races. China, like other countries, is a victim of the pandemic. Given the ongoing spread and rebound of the virus, the priority remains to be stepping up equitable distribution of COVID19 vaccines and enhancing solidarity and cooperation. Origin-tracing cooperation must be based on science, and politicization must be firmly rejected. China will work with other parties to carry out science-based global origin-tracing, and contribute China's part to humanity's final victory over COVID19.
Lim Chea Vutha's fourth question: apart from producing Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines in China, does China plan to establish new vaccine-producing factories in other countries like Cambodia? As Cambodia continues to provide vaccines to her people, will China consider providing more vaccine assistance to Cambodia?
Ambassador's fourth answer: Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China has contributed up to 800 million doses of vaccine to countries around the world, including Cambodia, fulfilling President Xi Jinping's solemn commitment to make Chinese vaccines a global public good.
China has provided 21.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia, including 3.2 million in donation, in support of the Cambodian government’s plan to vaccinate 10 million people nationwide. China will continue to provide vaccines and other medical supplies to Cambodia within its capacity to play the role of strategic backstop.
In addition to providing vaccines directly, China has also been working with some developing countries on vaccine production to boost supply, accessibility and affordability. This is an evolving picture that I believe will continue to unfold and expand in terms of filling and production. I certainly hope that Cambodia will have such an opportunity.
=FRESH NEWS
