THE UN General Assembly has adopted an “omnibus” resolution to encourage international cooperation in response to COVID-19. The resolution, which was adopted with a vote of 169 to 2 with two abstentions, identifies international cooperation, multilateralism and solidarity as the only way for the world to effectively respond to global crises such as COVID-19. It’s a clear and powerful signal sent out by the international community that at a time of a massive crisis of COVID-19, what the world needs is not “my country comes first” style unilateralism, or the withdrawal from the international organizations, or schemes to stoke confrontation between different ideologies and political systems. The immediate threat to everyone in the whole world is the coronavirus. While some countries are returning to normal as business activities and people’s daily lives resume gradually, thanks to strict prevention and controlled measures, many more countries are still struggling with the assault of the virus, such as the United States, where the death toll is approaching 200,000.
In normal times, you’d expect a stronger and more urgent sense of mission for major powers to join hands in handling COVID-19. Unfortunately, what we witness is the practice of “modern piracy” of medical equipment in international airports, or the attempt to monopolize vaccines from German and French companies. Adding to that, there’s the withdrawal by the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), the key international body coordinating global efforts against the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has been “compounding the once-in-a-century transformations unfolding in our world,” says a Chinese Position Paper on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN. The world is “entering a period of turbulence and change,” with the rise of protectionism, unilateralism and bullying practices.
In addition to the departure of the WHO, Washington has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, sabotaging global efforts to fight climate change. The U.S. is also backing out of arms control. It has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal, abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, left the Open Skies Treaty on military transparency, and refused to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Washington also threatened the top prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with visa revocation as well as criminal investigations. As a result, the base of international security is being shaken and the reemergence of an arms race is not out of question. Beyond its international obligation and responsibilities as the world’s most powerful country, the U.S. has launched a series of attacks on China, due to rising concern in Washington that its global preeminence might be replaced by a rising China. – (CGTN)
