China’s swift control of COVID-19 offers hope for world

   BERLIN, March 26  -- China has shown the world that with proper measures, COVID-19 can be controlled within six to eight weeks, which has offered hope for the world, said a German expert. 
   "China showed the world that the outbreak could be controlled in six to eight weeks, important for the economy," said Dr. Berthold Kuhn, senior adviser at the Berlin-based think tank Dialogue of Civilizations (DOC) Research Institute in a recent telephone interview with Xinhua.
   Kuhn said the world has seen crashes in many stock markets around the world, not only in Wall Street but also in Frankfurt.
   "We need to think about new mechanisms to reduce the impacts on the global market. That must be a topic for G20 video conference, otherwise it would become a catastrophe," said Kuhn about the G20 virtual leaders' summit on COVID-19 to be held via video on Thursday.
   International cooperation is very important in the fight against the COVID-19, Kuhn said, voicing concern about how the situation will develop in countries "where health systems are not very good."
   These countries need development assistance, an issue that could be addressed at the G20 meeting, said Kuhn.
   It is highly appreciated that China acts in close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and also shares data and experiences with other countries, said Kuhn, who is also a China expert at the Free University of Berlin.
   "We are pleased to see that China is already assisting other countries, like Italy," said the expert.
   China shared the genetic sequence of the virus with other countries and helped them develop test kits, said Kuhn, calling for efforts against nationalist sentiments amid the pandemic.
   "The meeting like G20 is important, as leaders can coordinate with each other and fight against not only the virus but also nationalist sentiments and stigma," he said. Xinhua