Chinese Consul General Cui Wei spoke for Aydınlık

Due to its very rapid and comprehensive measures against the virus, China has taken the attention of the world and, of course, the attention of the Turkish people as well. How did the Chinese government, who eventually defeated the virus, achievedthis? We asked Cui Wei, the Consul Generalof Chinain Istanbul.

Consul General Cui has said that China has relied on its experience with infectious diseases such as the SARS, and it has begun to implement "the strictest, themost comprehensive and the most complementary" measures right off. Summarizing the secrets of preventing the outbreak in principles of "the four of early diagnose, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment", Cui also stressed on the system in China, its ability to mobilize all the forces across the country. Here are the answers for our questions by Cui Wei, the Consul General of China in Istanbul.

'IT STARTED WITH THE PNEUMONIA'

• How was Covid-19 virus first detected? After the first diagnosis, how much time it had taken to determine the virus would turn out be an epidemic. Covid-19 had first appeared in Wuhan? Why Wuhan? Is Wuhan any different from the other cities?

First of all, I would like to tell you about the process, since the emergence of a new type of Coronavirus outbreak occurred. In December 2019, unidentified types of pneumonia patients in Wuhan began to appear. On December 27, outbreak prevention and early control warnings was launched locally. The outbreak was reported to the Central Government on December 29th. On December 30th, the Central Government had implemented the emergency mechanisms. As of January 2nd, the gene sequence of the virus had been identified and the responses against the outbreak had begun. In mid-January, large-scale measures and control efforts had begun. On January 23rd, the entire city of Wuhan was quarantined. In late January, specialized hospitals and cabin hospitals were built, health professionals from all over the country hadmobilizedto provide support and assistance forWuhan. Until mid-February, local hospitals with 40,000 bed capacitieswere built to treat the infected people were built, and 40,000 healthcareprofessionals from other provinces had begun their work in these hospitals. Again in the mid-February, within the other regions of China, an approach of crisis management was applied parallel to the seriousness of the situation. In places where the situation is mild, people have returned back to theirjobs. After the March 10th, all cabin hospitals were closed since they had accomplished their duties, and the healthcareprofessionals from the other cities and regions were sent back home. As of today, the number of confirmed cases in China is 6,763, the number of suspected is 104, the number of patients treated is 71,284 and the number ofdead is 3,253 people.

In this whole process, we have shared the measures we have taken, the research results and all the experience we have gained with theWHO, and the WHO has consistently reported these and have guided the other countries.

The WHO experts have made it clear that the first reported case traced backto Wuhan, but the origin and causeof the virus is still in the process of being investigated. Therefore, it is not right to associate a virus whose origin and cause have not yet been clearly determined, with a country or region. The World Health Organization and the international community have openly opposed stigmatizing and linking the virus to a specific country or region. Both the WHO and the Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that, all countries should pay more attention to this outbreak. The WHO also said that China had saved some time for the world and it shows the world the fact that this outbreak can be prevented. Time needs to be used very carefully and the measures must be taken, but many countries have ignored theWHO’s warnings on these issues.

I would like to stress that the fight against the new type of Coronavirus is an important part inhumankind's struggle against nature with theinfectious diseases. The Covid-19 outbreak is now spreading rapidly around the world and expanding its sphere of infection. The most important thing is to cooperate as the international community on the fight against this epidemic, and to protect the human health and wellbeing. The Turkish government is paying great attention to the fight against this epidemic and is taking strong measures to achieve positive results.

'WE HAVE TAKEN FAST AND EFFICIENT ACTIONS'

• The whole world accepts that China has taken quite fast and comprehensive measures against the virus... Relying on which experiences and traditions, did the Chinese government take such a quick caution?When you look at the results, what was the most decisive of theChina's measures?

Since the outbreak started, the Chinese Government had established a national prevention and control system, based on its experience with infectious diseases such as the SARS. It had begun to implement the strictest, themost comprehensiveand the most complementary measures. The secret to prevent the outbreak relies on the four principles of "early diagnosis, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment".

This "System of Four" as we mentioned, was provided with the outstanding support of China's policies and its government system, as well as its national power. In the fight against this epidemic, China has benefited from its ability to mobilize all of its forces in response to major problems across thecountryand had strong support from the Chinese people within their framework of understandings. Just in72 hours, we detected the gene sequence of theCoronavirus, and developed a test kit which was effective, just within five days. We have built two specialized hospitals with 2,500 bed capacity, just in 10 days from scratch.Roughly in one and a half day, we have opened 16 hospitals with 13,000 beds in total. We have repurposed 24 of our existing hospitals for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. We have sent more than 40,000 medical professionals to Wuhan, consisting of more than 300 medical divisionsboth within the civilian duty and the army. In a short period of time, we have found few effective drugs amongst tens of thousands of existing drugs, integrated them with the traditional Chinese medicine, and published a treatment handguide. At the same time, we are stillworking on the vaccine researches, $13 billion fundingwas allocated by the Central Government and one-on-one assistance from 19 otherprovinces,for the metropolitan areas and other various regions of Hubei was maintained.These efforts show the greatness, speed and efficiency of China.

‘HUMANITY’S PROBLEM MUTUAL ASSISTANCEISNECESSARY.’

• Have any other countries helped you in this process?

In the fight against thisepidemic, many countries, including Turkey, have generously provided the medical supplies to China. This is a reflection of the ideals of the international morality and mutual aid. As the Chinese side, we are very grateful.

The virus is the common enemy for all humanity,therefore the international community must strengthen its cooperation in between against the epidemic. In the process of fighting the epidemic, China has sent teams of specialist medical professionals to various countries and regions in order to prevent and control the outbreak, pursuinga principle that this is a problem of the whole mankind, and we provided medical supplies such as masks and test kits, formany countries. With the efforts of the international community, I hope that we will prevent this epidemic and prevail over this virus as soon as possible.

'CLINIC TESTS FOR THE VACCINEHAVE BEGUN ON MARCH 17TH'

• At what stage is the vaccination researches in China? Can you give us a date for an effective vaccine?

After identifying the gene sequence, we have started researching for the vaccine, have established several teams for the research of multiple vaccines with different directives, and some progress was also made. On the evening of March 17, one of the teams have received an approval to proceed to the Covid-19 recombinant vaccine clinical testing phase. After determining the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, eliminating the potential side effectsas it requires in the Chinese law and in international conventions, and after the approval of the relevant testingdepartments with the clinical testing phase, we hope that a safe and effective vaccine will be ready.

'THE SERVICE SECTOR HAS RECLINEDTHE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS RISEN'

• China is the production center of the world. But now there is a widespread quarantine.New orders and shipments have been severely affected. How will this affect the Chinese economy? From China's perspective, would you agree with comments that "the virus will destroy the world economy greatly, there will be a 1929-like depression"?

The effects of this outbreak on the Chinese economy are mainly seen in the consumption and the service sectors. In 2019, consumption’scontribution to the growth of the economy was at 57.8 percent. But right now, we can saythat demands have to be delayed rather than cancelled completely in the consumption, which will naturally reappear after the outbreak.

Within the digital economy and the artificial intelligence sector, there have been huge increases during the epidemic process, enabling the development for the new models. Looking from a different perspective, the outbreak has accelerated the structural transformation of the Chinese economy and a supply-based reform.

Another noticeable effect was the difficultiesinreturning back to workduring the precautionary process, and there were reclines on the production. This is an inevitable outcome ofpreventing the epidemic. After intensifying our efforts to control the outbreak in a particular areain the short term, we began to actively encourage production to be returned back to normalin the mid-February. Currently, in several states across the country, 90 percent of the large-scale corporations and 60 percent of the small and medium sizedenterprises have started their production back again. For the SMEs, our government has offereda large number of privileges on credits, subsidies, taxes and tariff reductions, taking measures to ensure that companies start their production as soon as possible and to avoid the difficulties they face.

The long-term development of the Chinese economy is not disrupted. China has a large market, a full industrial infrastructure and the world's largest middle-class population. In addition, the Chinese economy is in an extremely strong and resilient situation. At the period of the SARS, China's economy contributed for only 8 percent of the world economy. We still continue to grow in a v-shaped recovery and now make up the 18 percent of the world economy, we are quite confident in this regard.

'THE US STILL HAS NOT MADE A STATEMENT YET'

• The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry,has stated the on his personal Twitter account, "The virus was brought to Wuhan by the US Army". How deep are the suspicionswithin the Chinese government regarding this statement?

Some senior US officials constantly use the phrase "the Chinese virus" and "Wuhan virus", and we and the WHO oppose to this. Wuhan hosted the World Military Games on October 18-27, 2019, and the United States sent a delegation of nearly 400 people to Wuhan to participate in the games. On March 11th2020, the director of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that "some people in the United States may have died of 'influenza' in theory, but thiscouldalso be caused by the Covid-19 virus." This has raised suspicion all over the world. On March 12th, the Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has posted on Twitter, "When did America's first Covid-19 case occur? How many people did it got spread? What is the name of the hospital these patients are being treated? Maybe the US Army had brought this outbreak to Wuhan. It is time for America to be transparent, announce the numbers to public. Right now, America needs to make anannouncement to us".

From the very beginning, China argues that this is a scientific problem, and that scientists and experts are needed to be heard. I am forwarding the Spokesperson's statements, don’t you think we should request the information to be kept transparent and open? I can also add that the United States has not made any statements yet.

'DO NOT BELIEVE IN RUMORS FOLLOW THE GOVERNMENT'S DIRECTIVES'

• How do you evaluate the measures that Turkey has taken? What are your recommendations for Turkey?

On March 18th, President Erdogan had explained the steps and measures thatTurkey will take, one by one. He has repeatedly stressed that the sole purpose of the Turkish government is to protect its citizens by acting responsibly. I should point out that China is willing to remain its communications with Turkey, to share the mutual experiences and practices, to work together in the fight against the epidemic, and to contribute positively to the healthcare and wellbeing of the two countries and the people of the entire world. If I have to make any suggestions, I had told the media outlets many times, donot believe in rumors, donot panic, follow the government's directives. That would be the right thing to do.