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Leeroy Dzenga

Features Writer

“None of the problems confronting the world economy can be resolved by one country alone. We must all put the common good of humanity first. No country should place its own interests above the common interests of all.”

This was part of the speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the second edition of the China international import expo in November 2019.

At the time, the clarion call sounded like one of those well-curated speeches delivered by heads of states at international platforms; bearing a mixture of politically correct rhetoric and diplomacy.

The idea propounded by President Xi was to be put to test less than two months after he had delivered the speech, calling for a collective approach in dealing the challenges life may throw at mankind.

Some who were present when the speech was made included French President Emmanuel Macron, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Bnarbic and Kyriakos Mitsotakis who is the current Greek Prime Minister.

By early 2020, the whole world was panicking at the face of a new global health threat now known as Covid-19.

At the time around January, China was facing a full assault from the disease, the news focused on China. In ignorance, some began developing an attitude towards China and Chinese nationals dotted around the world.

Reports of xenophobia and bigotry emerged, some even attributing the disease to China, in error of course.

China at the time responded swiftly to the pandemic, building new infrastructure, increasing the scale of production for consumables and applied non-pharmaceutical methods in handling the global health crisis.

The Lancet, the world’s leading weekly medical journal explains some of the measures which ensured the containment efforts were successful.

“Wuhan was placed under a strict lockdown that lasted 76 days. Public transport was suspended. Soon afterwards, similar measures were implemented in every city in Hubei province. Across the country, 14 000 health checkpoints were established at public transport hubs. School re-openings after the winter vacation were delayed and population movements were severely curtailed,” The Lancet said.

Dozens of cities implemented family outdoor restrictions, which typically meant that only one member of each household was permitted to leave the home every couple of days to collect necessary supplies. Within weeks, China had managed to test 9 million people for SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan. It set up an effective national system of contact tracing, the journal said.

By March, China was smarting from a strict lockdown regime which had a heavy burden on their economy.

As they emerged from the worst of the pandemic, there was a rise in global cases.

President Xi Jinping’s words were put to test, here was China, a country with the fastest growing economy and Covid-19 knowledge. It had bravely fought off the pandemic which had sent the rest of the world indoors.

True to his word, the Chinese assisted countries big and small with insights on how best to handle the pandemic.

In May, a group of 12 Chinese doctors came to Zimbabwe to share notes with local doctors.

The Chinese medical team leader, Dr Yimin Zhu, said their mission was not only sharing experiences and helping medical professionals in Zimbabwe, but would also strengthen the already existing diplomatic relations between China and Zimbabwe.

The engagement meant that our local doctors got a chance to listen to those who had first-hand experience in handling the pandemic.

Without a lot of research and the virus being novel in nature, the deployment of 12 doctors to Zimbabwe by the Chinese government added to the country’s response by way of insights.

The pandemic was unforeseen. It defied forecasts, no country saw it coming.

Some countries did not have budgetary allocations specific to Covid-19 and Zimbabwe is one of those.

This meant that the money which got into the fight against the pandemic had to be repurposed from other needs, while the initial set of priorities remained in place.

As a result, at times, the country would find itself in need of material replenishments of things like face masks, protective clothing and test kits.

On occasions, we saw China chipping in to assist Zimbabwe.

Cargo from the Asian country would land at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport after every few weeks.

The assistance, helped energise Zimbabwe’s response which has so far defied grim predictions by those who made early permutations.

These donations are always coordinated from the highest level of governance.

In July, when President Mnangagwa received 30 000 testing kits donated by China, 220 000 surgical masks and 40 000 medical gloves, among other personal protective equipment (PPEs), he said in times of need, he reaches out directly to his colleague President Xi.

“China under the President Xi Jinping has throughout consulted us, communicated with us to find out what assistance we need and every single request I have made, I have been replied to positively. On behalf of Zimbabwe and indeed on my behalf, I wish you Your Excellency to express and convey our sincere appreciation to the response we receive from China,” the President said.

The way China has been practical in their Covid-19 assistance of countries across the world, including Zimbabwe, should be emulated.

With countries such as China now leading efforts to find a vaccine against the disease, Zimbabwe would do well to partake in research and benefit from cutting-edge innovation that could save humanity.

China is conducting clinical trials of 11 Covid-19 vaccines, four of which have entered phase three trials, Wang Zhigang, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, told the Global Science and Life Health Forum in Beijing recently.

If Africa participates, the continent stands ready to benefit from any positive outcomes.

It will be good for the continent and the country’s economies which have taken a battering from Covid-19, derailing development strategies which were in the middle of implementation.

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