[Yonhap Photo]
"There are no borders to fight infectious diseases, and no country can think of itself alone in the face of infectious diseases," Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming said in an article to Aju Business Daily. He stressed that the three countries can work together to make up for their shortcomings in the areas of medical care, medicine and related technology.
"In particular, they can actually cooperate in developing effective treatments and vaccines," said the envoy who arrived in Seoul on January 30 at the early stage of an epidemic in South Korea. "If the three countries stop the spread of the situation, it will contribute greatly to the defense of the rest of the world. In other words, once the East Asian region is stabilized, the whole world will be stabilized."
Xing said that the three countries should strengthen joint quarantine, establish a three-way system as soon as possible to strengthen coordination in health, quarantine and immigration, and set up synchronized quarantine standards for aircraft and customs.
The three countries should share their quarantine experience for effective quarantine, the envoy said, pointing to China's extensive experience in securing beds and clinical treatment as well as excellent technology and prevention capabilities South Korea and Japan have.
Xing said that as the industrial chains of South Korea, China and Japan are closely connected, COVID-19 is dealing a "tremendous" blow to economic and trade exchanges in Northeast Asia.
For post-epidemic ties, the envoy said the three countries should stabilize industrial and supply chains by taking into account long-term developments. He said the epidemic would have a limited impact on exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
