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In terms of the effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention and control, of all the countries in the world only two have flattened the curve of new infections after large-scale outbreaks, one of which is China and the other South Korea.

Since late March, the most noticeable COVID-19 related news in addition to the significant outbreak in Europe and the U.S., has been the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to 2021 and the subsequent sudden outbreak in Japan.

Maybe, in the context of a crisis where humanity is lacking clear leadership, we should accept that a door has just opened for a new exchange between China and the U.S., at least in terms of international cooperation and global influence. Only time will tell.

Although the exact impact of the coronavirus on the BRI is still unclear, it is hard to imagine that Chinese firms will abandon those in-process projects. There is much money and reputation invested in these projects, so the show must and will go on.

It is suggested that governments and the international community should adopt the precautionary principle and assume “common but differentiated responsibilities”. They should not refuse or shirk their responsibility in dealing with the pandemic and should make every effort to respond to it.

In the past two weeks, Italy has become the second-largest epicenter of the viral outbreak, with 16,000 cases in total and over a thousand deaths. The virus primarily spread from Codogno, a small town about 70 kilometers from Milan in southern Lombardy, the wealthiest region of Italy.