An important Inspiration from COVID-19 Pandemic: Strengthening the Public Sector

Professor Zhang Min, Institute of European Studies, Director for Spanish Research Center of Chinese Academy of Social Science

Professor Xulio Ríos, the President of the Galician Institute of International Analysis and Documentation, IGADI and the Director of the Chinese Policy Observatory -Observatorio de la Política China

Rethinking the epidemic helps people to enhance their sense of belonging to the global community

Prof. Zhang Min: Dear Prof. Rios, it is my great honor to exchange our views on current situation via Guang Ming Daily international dialogue column. So far COVID-19 is still spreading globally far away ending, there are over 20 million confirmed cases and more than 70 thousands cases died, without doubt, that is the pandemic in the public health sector suffered by human being since this century. American climatologist Edward Lorenz who firstly found the butterfly effect would not image that COVID-19 also has brought such effect like butterfly effect. COVID-19 reminds human being that whatever countries, developed, developing and less developing all are the internal part of earth’s homeland, and they depend on and influence each other. In the early stage of coronavirus outbreak, some countries’ attitudes unilaterally such as putting the hands in the sleeves and looking on and safeguarding themselves domestically only speed up virus spreading globally. The greatest public health emergency affairs has finally led to the most serious economic recession in the world after World War II. Human society is a community of common destiny. What do you think of the impact of this pandemic on human society?

Prof. Xulio Rios: I am also very glad to exchange views with you. The pandemic is a factual and unequivocal demonstration of the so-called "butterfly effect": a problem detected in a certain area of the world that soon shows its consequences in practically the entire globe, affecting humanity as a whole. It is evidence that the world is a whole, a system in which everything matters and everything has repercussions, so that nothing should be ignored or undervalued. The theoretical understanding of this reasoning offers no doubt; now we are living it in first person. We need to understand that no one is on the sidelines or safe. What was experienced in Asia several years ago, we are all experiencing on a planetary level now. The fact that SARS or MERS did not reach Europe or the United States in its day, explains to some extent that our governments have reacted late and badly. The Covid-19 will mark a turning point for everyone.

Prof. Zhang Min: In the process of preventing and control virus spreading, many drawbacks on the public health governance have been exposed and emerged, many countries faced the new challenges of public health system, their governances and public administrations have been greatly tested. The United States and some other countries with sound medical and health facilities, medical research level and diagnosis and treatment level can be rated as the world's first-class countries. They respond slowly to the epidemic situation in their own countries and lack due attitude to international cooperation, which is harmful to overcome the epidemic. In facing Coronavirus, the common enemy of mankind, all countries can finally get rid of the virus only by joint efforts and close cooperation. In addition, it also seems that there are some possibilities for spreading new infectious diseases caused by the deterioration of the global environment.

Prof. Xulio Rios: Without a doubt, it has exposed many things. First of all, our fragility as a human community. We thought that this kind of situations were more typical of past centuries or that they could exclusively affect regions with a very low level of development. But this is not the case, and this experience should serve to reinforce our sense of belonging to a global society in which we must strive to achieve higher levels of cohesion. Second, the need for cooperation as the first requirement of any hypothetical antidote. No one can save himself alone. We need mutual support, the exchange of knowledge and experiences, the shared search for solutions. Finally, it also represents a serious warning about the risks we are facing due to climate change, a phenomenon that for many scientists is at the root of the spread of these new diseases, which could increase their number in the future. It is urgent that the international community, and in the first place governments but also civil society, imagine a stronger commitment to a civilization that is more respectful with the natural environment in every respect. Environmental pillage can have dire consequences in the sanitary order but with impacts that as we are appreciating, can go much further, conditioning our economy and the stability of our societies.

The public need to be educated to prevent the "trap of throwing away the pot" and "information pandemic"

Prof. Zhang Min: In general speaking, a state which has a certain capacity of public governance can make quick respond to the public health emergencies. Spain has sound public health care system and gained successful experience in preventing infectious diseases such as Ebola. Spain is the one among countries which first made confirmation diagnosis on COVID-19. When World Health Organization just announced COVID-19 as the world's greatest public health emergency affair. The next day, on January 31st, the Spanish national health warning and emergency coordination center confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in Spain. Of course, under the circumstance, it is impossible for Spain to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19. After the gradual decentralization of public health management rights to the autonomous regions, it is very important for the central and local governments to coordinate in taking measures against coronavirus. Whether the early warning and emergency response center timely and accurately reports COVID-19 situation also directly affects the effect on preventing the virus.

Prof. Xulio Rios: The case of Spain shows some singularities at a European and world level. Like in other neighboring countries, the public health system has weakened in recent years. Furthermore, the authorities did not realize about the seriousness of the challenge at first. Likewise, it should be kept in mind that Spain is a plurinational and decentralized state, the health system is managed by the autonomous communities and due to the declaration of the state of alarm, the State took control of the health system. Of the more than 28,000 victims, more than a half died in nursing homes, which has a large presence of private companies in property and management. This system must be revised. One of the main conclusions is that more money should be invested in public health but also in the welfare system in general. The consequences on the economic and social fabric are important. The confinement has caused an economic slowdown that could mean more than a 10 percent GDP drop this year. The structure of the Spanish economy, which especially depends on seasonal activities such as tourism, a highly affected sector, does not help recovery and this will greatly affect employment. Consequently, when we thought that the effects of the 2008 crisis had been overcome, this new crisis will pose a huge challenge for Spain. On the other hand, doubts and controversies within the European Union about aid plans for the most affected countries, may complicate the return to normality.

Despite the fact that many scientists have been warning us of this danger for a long time, in general, we were not prepared. Especially, and this is curious, in western and more developed countries. In Asia, the experience is greater and therefore also the pandemic management models were more successful, even showing that is ahead in the use of new technologies, big data and algorithms, issues that in some western countries imply significant controversies regarding respect for individual privacy. In this sense, one of the consequences of the pandemic has been the acceleration of digital uses and new technologies, that have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic. This will have consequences in the future.   Information management is also a major challenge in these situations. The battle for the “story” in a context of massive disinformation campaigns has been fierce. The WHO itself has defined this phenomenon as an "infodemic", the pandemic of info-falsehoods. No one less than Donald Trump, at the head of the first world power, indifferent to the ill population of the planet, has led the disclosure of a series of toxic information with the purpose of diverting attention and blaming third parties for his clumsy management of this calamity. A better civic education is required not to blindly fall into these tactics, but also institutional solutions that can correct this phenomenon that has spread almost faster than the virus itself.

Prof. Zhang Min: With regard to COVID-19 pandemic, some government officials and politicians in the United States have engaged in "political stigmatization" and attacked China, thus deteriorating Sino US relations. The United States has exposed the hegemonic behavior in response to major emergencies in global public health.  

Prof. Xulio Rios: China-US relations have worsened since the arrival of Donald Trump. A lot has been said about commercial, technological, strategic tensions, etc. All of this responds to the same reason: to preserve Washington's hegemony at all costs and to prevent any other country, in this case China, from having a conversation with them in equal terms. The United States has endeavored to make the pandemic one more instrument of this tension and, contrary to the opinion of science and reason, the country accuses China and seeks to denigrate its international image to show the world that it is a country that cannot be trusted. However, the facts prove the opposite every day. Still, a change in attitude is not to be expected. In my opinion, the US response to the pandemic accelerates its international decline. The Trump Administration has done a disastrous management of this crisis and that is obvious. At the national level, we all know their figures: whether we are talking about infected or deceased, they are terrifying. At the international level, its leadership has been brutally broken. No one in the world can see the United States as an example to follow. On the contrary, China knew how to recover from the first and hard attack, it provides aid to more than a hundred countries and little by little it overcomes a challenge that has been the greatest trauma suffered by humanity for centuries.

It is the state, not the market, that can save lives

Prof. Zhang Min: After the end of the bipolar world order, these states which strongly advocate Neoliberalism put emphasis on the market and made most public health sectors privatization and weaken the authority and role of the state in the field of public affairs. Once the public service is urgently needed, it will inevitably face many problems, such as insufficient medical resources, lack of material reserves, insufficient medical staffs and so on. States play very important role preventing this pandemic. Many countries have implemented emergency laws and regulations, which have played a positive role in the emergency use of medical materials, tracking, issuing and controlling the spread of virus by using modern technology. In the post pandemic era, that is the issue which will be worthy of great consideration on how to better provide public goods and services in the public affairs.

Prof. Xulio Rios: That said, a relevant aspect in my opinion is the revaluation of the public services. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the bipolar world order, we have witnessed a process of ideological demolition of the value of the public services, a process of exaltation to a ridiculous degree of the private sector and the inexhaustible benefits of the market. In the health field, for example, where there were strong public systems, these have been eroded by the increasing expansion of the private in their structures, whose primary objective is to seek benefits for their shareholders. Thus, to confront the pandemic, we have verified the deterioration of our resources, both in terms of personnel and means of all kinds, as a consequence of the implementation of neoliberal policies that defended the end of the public sector and the excellence of the market as a paradigm of an efficient solution. The pandemic, however, has opened the eyes of many: the public action of the State and the public services are what allow us to face this challenge in order to protect people without paying attention to costs, placing human beings at the epicentre of the management. Because there is nothing more valuable than human life. Consequently, if what is lived does not fall into oblivion, a sustained strengthening of the public sector and the end of that ideological proclamation of sacralisation of the private can be expected. Undoubtedly, the private sector has its place, but leadership on certain issues must be public. It is the State that saves, not the market. And all this should not be necessarily detrimental to public-private collaboration, which also deserves to be strengthened, especially in this order in which much progress has been made. An important challenge is to extend this impulse to the field of pharmaceutical production to prevent solutions, many of them reached with the help of public money, from becoming excessively lucrative businesses for the large multinationals in the sector.

Safeguarding health is the basic value of the common destiny of a group

Prof. Zhang Min: There are no national boundaries on virus and there are also no race differences on the pandemic. Human beings are facing a common destiny. The international medical community pointed out that the coronavirus will coexist with human being for a long time. At the opening ceremony of the seventy-third World Health Assembly video conference held in May 18th, China's president Xi Jinping proposed the construction of "human health and health community". It should be noted that in the face of the global pandemic, strengthening international cooperation is more important than ever before.

 Prof. Xulio Rios: It is a logical and accurate proposal. It goes in the right direction, unlike those who choose to disavow the role of the WHO or simply abandon it. The pandemic has shown that also in health, common challenges are increasing and there are no national solutions to face them. The defense of health is an essential value for a community’s shared destiny that today represents the internationalism of the 21st century. On the contrary, unilateral attitudes driven by the White House will not solve anything. Protectionism leads us to a dead end. Only by increasing international coordination, defining a common agenda and implementing measures for its development will lead us on the right track. A new attitude is needed. In the main western powers there has been a resounding level of incompetence that could be exacerbated in the coming months if they do not act responsibly. In the EU, the lack of cohesion, which could also worsen, suggests bad results. We can't go on like this. Commitment to this proposal of a global health community is essential to have alternatives adapted to the challenge we face. If we keep in mind the experts predictions, the worst may not have happened yet.

In another order of things, at a global level, the same thing happens. Multilateral intergovernmental institutions must be strengthened, starting with the WHO, of course, underfunded in regard to means and capabilities. It must be done by restoring the value of another now rising expression which had also been reviled: solidarity. National selfishness, an expression of the bewildered reaction in the first moments of the pandemic, even struggling to access medical supplies that were a cause of scandal, were useless. On the other hand, the most fanatical ultra-liberals did not hesitate to openly demand the Malthusian elimination of the weakest. This was expressed, for example, by the Deputy Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, but also in Europe, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, for example, endorsing alternatives such as the exclusion of people of a certain age from access to intensive care units. All these reactions also brought to light the hidden inequalities of our societies, so often presented as a paradigm of respect for human rights, but deeply resented for disregard of the common good in the recent decades.

We will also see how the health crisis affects the logistic and supply lines. The tension between global health and health sovereignty will undergo a new course and this must be reflected in the definition of new balances. It will be necessary to plan more, reindustrialize some sectors and, of course, discard the "zero stock" doctrine that claimed ultra-liberal trends.

The longer you look down on China, the more opportunities you will lose

Prof. Zhang Min: After the outbreak of COVID-19 globally, Europe and China have supported each other, and both sides have constantly reached consensus and encouraged each other, becoming the two major anti pandemic players in the world. During the outbreak of COVID-19, high-level contacts between China and Spain was more closed. President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to King Felipe VI of kingdom of Spain. China State Councilor and Minister of foreign affairs Wang Yi made a phone conversation with Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzales. Since then, China has actively provided anti pandemic material assistance to Spain, shared diagnosis and treatment programs and prevention and control experience, and Chinese living in Spain have also actively participated in the action against COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof. Xulio Rios: In the first moments of the pandemic, Chinese aid was essential to improve our capacity of response. As already said, we were not prepared for this challenge and our dependence on international markets in order to obtain essential supplies placed China as a country of obligatory reference. Those were very difficult weeks in which the Chinese community in Spain itself was mobilized in various ways to show solidarity. Also at the start of the pandemic in China, in Spain there were important gestures in support of the Chinese people.

Prof. Zhang Min: With the joint action against COVID-19 pandemic, China and the EU have maintained close dialogue and supported each other. China's president Xi Jinping, made call on March 13, 2020 to President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to express sincere condolences on the outbreak of Coronavirus in the EU. President Xi Jinping pointed out that "unity is strength". China adheres to the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Europe bilaterally and internationally to jointly safeguard global and regional public health security. ". This year 2020 marks the 45th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping pointed out at video conference on China and Europe Summit: "the world suffering from this pandemic is undergoing profound changes and will experience more uncertainties and instabilities." Both China and the West are the promoters, supporters and defenders of world multilateralism. Both sides should work together to play a positive role in the construction and exchanges of the two world players, markets and civilizations of China and the EU. What do you think of advocating multilateralism in international affairs? How do you think the healthy development of the relations between China and Spain and between China and the EU in the post pandemic era?

Prof. Xulio Rios: Multilateralism is today the basis of any solution to the great global challenges we are now facing. In recent years, much progress has been made in understanding this reality and in enabling institutional mechanisms in order to advance in the design of responses. It is true that sometimes it is necessary to go faster and that it is not always easy to establish agreements because the starting points of each country are different. But there is no other way. And the worst of all is to selfishly bet on unilateral mechanisms because they are not solutions and time will take care of confirming it.  

In regard to bilateral relations, within the framework of the EU, Brussels needs to reinforce its self-identification in the global arena, increasing its strategic autonomy to have its own voice in international affairs. Differences with US foreign policy are on the rise and are also evident in the relationship of these two countries with China. But that nuanced definition of a properly European policy will not be easy. It will take time, a factor that does not help when events move faster, and it takes boldness to seize opportunities. The EU faces an extremely delicate situation. As a protective Union it has failed, it has not been able to respond jointly to the drama caused by Covid-19 and it may also fail in the recovery strategy if it opts again for austerity policies that have offered dire results in the past. But there are those who insist on this path again and this could further accentuate the differences. In part, the problems of the healthcare systems in countries such as Spain, Italy or France are the consequence of those restrictive policies. The north-south divide is a fact in Europe and if cohesion was previously a major concern, it has lost relevance on the community agenda.  

With regard to Spain and China, first, within the framework of the EU, Spain can play a constructive role; and second, at the bilateral level, there is plenty of room to intensify cooperation. What I do believe is that Spain should stop seeing China as the "last resort", when others fail, and formulate a strategic proposal that takes into account the new global reality that is taking shape before our eyes. The longer it takes to do so, the more opportunities will be lost.