China joins the "Silk Belt and Road" countries to combat the epidemic, strengthen cooperation and contribute to containing the epidemic globally

Weren't we lucky that China was the first armor in confronting and defeating the epidemic? A question in the minds of every person. It is not a question, but rather an affirmation of the role that China played in combating an unprecedented epidemic that toppled many countries regardless of their economic strength while everyone was idle, or in other words, they were in the position of the spectator to take the lead in confronting him.

Thus, we have all learned how to take steps that history will remember in saving the world, for our world is one world in which we all live, and this idea must be rooted in our thinking alike in this age and what we live in in terms of globalization, speed and great information that we need to keep up with.

The role of China has begun to crystallize since the announcement of the new Corona virus and its repercussions, and the matter was referred to the World Health Organization, and even provided with all information about the virus, in a way that embodies the idea of the "one world" and "a community with a shared destiny for humanity."

The fear appeared on the major economic countries from the impact of Corona on their economy at home and abroad, but in order to improve the system of global governance and maintain the international system, a close and solid union between China and the Arab countries, led by Egypt, was indispensable in exchanging knowledge and experiences in the face of this pandemic, this was within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the role model it established - the "Healthy Silk Road".

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Beijing affirmed the role of China in always striving for a single world living in security, stability and peace, as it continued to assist African countries through Sending expert teams, providing and facilitating the purchase of medical supplies from China.

It also intends to start building the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, ahead of the scheduled date this year, and work with Africa in the full implementation of the healthcare initiative.

Also, in his speech, President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of giving greater priority to cooperation in the areas of public health, reopening the economy, and improving people's living conditions, as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Egypt has always been the pioneer and the largest share among the Belt and Road countries due to its geographical location and its ancient history, as well as the friendly relations that bind with China over 64 years of diplomatic relations. It never took the role of a spectator, but rather quickly sent medical aid, and expressed its support for China. In light of this pandemic, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi sent Minister of Health and Housing Dr. Hala Zayed at the head of a delegation carrying a message of solidarity from the Egyptian people to the Chinese people in facing the crisis.

For his part, President El-Sisi praised the model presented by China to contain the epidemic, stressing the importance of maximizing the lessons learned from the experiences of countries that have gone a long way in success in besieging the Coronavirus.

The lighting of the Citadel of Salah al-Din in Cairo, the complex of the temples of Karnak in Luxor Governorate, and the Temple of Philae in Aswan in the south, with the colors of the Chinese flag, had a great impact on moral support alike, especially since these archaeological sites are the most important and most famous in Egypt, and were specifically chosen to illuminate them with the colors of the flag China so that there is diversity, with the aim of "solidarity with the Chinese side," and within the framework of "good relations" between the two countries, especially as it is considered a living embodiment of the strength and depth of friendship between the two countries as the two oldest civilizations in the world.

Since the spread of the new Corona virus, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced the solidarity of the Egyptian government and people with the governments and peoples of the whole world in fighting the virus, and then Egyptian armed forces aircraft loaded with medical supplies began to roam the most prevalent countries of the epidemic, beginning with China, America, Italy and Sudan, then Congo and Zambia to play their role in support of countries along the Belt and Road.

Under these circumstances, the administration of Ain Shams University, an ancient Egyptian governmental university, assumed its responsibility towards about 3 million people, including 310,000 students, faculty members, administrators, and medical teams, in addition to their families, and 1.5 million patients who visit Ain Shams University hospitals annually, most of them are unable.

With these tasks, the university’s role towards society and support for the state’s efforts in this regard should not be overlooked.

Despite the enormity of the task, this ordeal emanated from it local and international cooperation in participating in crisis management and exchanging experiences and statistics between countries.

This crisis has also driven digital transformation in various areas of life, especially in the field of health care, which has led to the development of new perceptions to raise the efficiency of the health service while rationalizing spending.

The important role played by Ain Shams University and its hospitals in facing the Corona crisis was evident in the framework of a plan implemented by the university to rehabilitate its hospitals to deal with this crisis, as it has equipped Ain Shams Specialized Hospital in Obour City as an isolation hospital for positive cases, in addition to preparing the university city for students, in cooperation with the Armed Forces, as a temporary isolation hospital, for simple positive cases, with a capacity of 2,389 beds, and 7 research papers were approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, one of them related to the drug for treating Corona virus in an attempt to treat patients whose condition has reached a critical stage.

In economic terms, the economic statistics raise concerns. In the second quarter of the year, the Eurozone recorded a historic decline of 12.1% of GDP due to the measures taken to contain the epidemic crisis, and in France, the decline reached 13.8%, compared to 18.5% in Spain and 10. 14% in Germany, which has been described as Europe's economic engine.

In light of the closure measures and preventive measures that countries follow to survive the Corona epidemic crisis, the economic crisis came to sweep countries, government and people, as the United Nations expected that the Corona pandemic (Covid-19) would lead to a loss of the global economy during the years 2020 and 2021 about $ 8.5 trillion.

The nations also suffered great losses as a result of layoffs, despite the efforts made by the various governments to address this crisis, and we see this manifested in various countries, in Britain 23% of the British workforce was temporarily laid off, and a country like the United States faced the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers.

Despite the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, the Egyptian economy is achieving a growth of 3.8%, so that Egypt is one of the very few countries that was able to achieve a positive real growth rate during the year 2020, due to the rational management by the government under the leadership and direction of President Al- Sisi, and that good dealings with the situation is what has called foreign investors to return again in a strong way since the beginning of mid-June, and by pumping more investments in government securities.

Perhaps the Corona epidemic - which swept the countries of the world and the negative effects it had on health, economy and other sectors - played a role in upholding the concept of a "community of shared destiny for mankind" and the need for solidarity and support between different countries in the face of crises.

As a result, we hope that the international community will have a role in uniting peoples in a way that serves the interest of each people separately without interfering in their internal policies and affairs, but that the whole world will blend into one unit that complements each other.

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini

President of Ain Shams University