On 5 March, Minister Ma Hui gave an interview to Bloomberg News on China’s fight against the Covid-19 outbreak and global cooperation in battling the virus. Bloomberg News reported the interview on 10 March.

When asked about whether mishandled response to the epidemic, such as discrediting China and discriminating Chinese nationals, may worsen the “misunderstanding” of China, Minister Ma said, since the outbreak of the Covid-19, many international organizations and countries including the UK have extended their sympathies and support to China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation in which the Prime Minister mentioned British pharmaceutical companies’ interest in working with China to develop the vaccine and medicine. Any attempts to stigmatize China and to discriminate or even attack the Chinese nationals and overseas students personally under the name of the epidemic are strongly condemned. He hoped that the Western media would report China’s efforts in fighting the epidemic in a comprehensive, objective and just manner and play a positive role in promoting mutual understanding between peoples.

Regarding whether the Covid-19 epidemic would drag down the economy of China and the world, and delay the globalization of the world economy, Minister Ma said that the leader of China has attached great importance to coordinate the prevention and control of the Covid-19 outbreak and economic and social development, as well as required a precise approach when advancing resumption of work and production based on regions and health risks. The Chinese government has also adopted supporting measures for airlines to resume international flights. The impact of the epidemic on China is temporary and the fundamentals of China’s long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged. If the international community works together to curb the global spread of the epidemic with quick actions, the impact on the international supply chain, industry chain and world’s economy can be manageable. As the future and interests of all countries are connected, the Covid-19 epidemic will not alter the trend of economic globalization.