Alessandra Galloni: The coronavirus has clearly been tragic for many of your people. It has spread to other parts of the world. It has resulted in travel restrictions. Is China facing a crisis of confidence?

Wang Yi: The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus is a severe challenge to China and the world at large. Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Government and people have withstood the test and won the respect and recognition of the international community with our efforts and sacrifice.

After the outbreak, the Chinese Government immediately set up a nationwide mechanism to mobilize resources. We have taken the most comprehensive, stringent and thorough prevention and control measures possible, many of which are well beyond what is required by the International Health Regulations and the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).

With Chinese speed, we are working day and night to save the life of every patient. With Chinese strength, we are united as one to contain the further spread of the epidemic. Through these arduous efforts, the epidemic is generally under control. For example, outside Hubei Province, the number of confirmed cases has been declining for 11 consecutive days across China. That is a cumulative drop of over 50 percent. There has been a rapid increase in the recovery rate, with nearly 7,000 people recovered and discharged from hospital. The case fatality rate is about 2.2 percent nationwide and just 0.49 percent outside Hubei.

These facts and data show that China's decisive response has been both appropriate and effective, and that by and large, the outbreak is controllable and the disease curable. As President Xi has pointed out, we have the confidence, capability and determination to prevail over the virus soon.

As a responsible major country, China has from the start acted in an open and transparent manner in releasing relevant information to the world and seeking international cooperation to prevent the spread of the epidemic worldwide. To date, the number of confirmed cases outside China is less than 1 percent of the total. We are not only doing our very best to ensure the life, safety and health of the Chinese people, but also making a contribution to and sacrifice for global public health security. The WHO has, on multiple occasions, commended China for its responsible actions, speaking highly of China's decisive response and expressing confidence that China will overcome the epidemic.

Virus respects no borders. It requires a collective response from the international community. To date, leaders of over 160 countries and international organizations have expressed their sympathy and support for China through telegrams or letters. The governments and peoples of several dozen countries are lending a helping hand and we are truly grateful for these acts of kindness.

In our view, the enhanced inspection measures taken by some countries are reasonable, while other countries have overreacted, which has caused unnecessary panic and is not consistent with WHO recommendations.

There is a Chinese saying: "True gold can stand the test of fire." I'm sure that emerging from this test, the Chinese people will become more resilient and united, and the Chinese economy will achieve more solid and sustainable growth. The Chinese people will continue to march confidently toward the goal of establishing a moderately prosperous society in all respects and embark on a new modernization journey.

There's another Chinese saying: "Adversity reveals true friendship." As China battles the disease with the world, its friendship and trust will be strengthened and deepened. Countries will realize that they live in a global village, with their future interconnected like never before.

You talked about transparency, but initially China was not forthcoming about the virus, including when there were some people in China warning about it. Can you explain that decision?

This is a new virus. So naturally it takes time for people to gain more understanding and knowledge about it. The same has happened in other countries. If we look at past epidemics, we see that a responsible government will eventually make decisions based on serious and repeated tests and study.

After individual cases emerged, the Chinese Government took prompt actions and informed the WHO at the first opportunity. At the same time, we made rigorous assessments. In a short period of time, we identified and decided that this was a new virus. Once that decision was made, a nationwide inter-agency task force was quickly put in place. The measures taken by China have been timely and swift. This is also the conclusion of the WHO director general after his visit to China.

You said some countries have overreacted. Which countries?

I don't want to single out individual countries. They have their own judgments and reasons. Everybody can see that the measures taken by these countries go far beyond the recommendations of the WHO. For example, measures have been taken to comprehensively stop people-to-people exchanges. In addition, not only have people in Wuhan been evacuated, but also people in regions where the epidemic is not severe. We do not interfere with the decisions of other countries. However, when these measures are taken, we must look at whether they are truly beneficial to a joint response to the epidemic.

This is a big challenge to President Xi. How is the government dealing with this?

This is a comprehensive battle and a people's war, with every person pitching in and playing a role. President Xi is personally overseeing and guiding the response to the epidemic. We quickly set up a national framework of epidemic control in this land of 9.6 million square km and 1.4 billion people. This is an unprecedented endeavor, which is probably unimaginable in many countries. But China is pulling it off.

For example, the Spring Festival is one of the most important holidays in China. On the very first day of the holiday [on January 25], President Xi convened the highest level meeting of the governing body, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, to draw up a comprehensive plan on responding to the epidemic, which initiated the nationwide battle against the epidemic. This had never happened before in Chinese history on the first day of the Spring Festival. It shows President Xi's grasp of the situation, his outstanding leadership and China's strong mobilization capability.

Moving on to trade, with a breach from the coronavirus, does China have problems meeting its obligations to import more products and services from the U.S. because of the outbreak?

The Chinese people always honor our commitments. We stand ready to work with the U.S. to implement the phase-one trade agreement reached by the two sides, which is good for China, the U.S. and the world at large.

The Chinese market is big enough to withstand the temporary impact of the epidemic. When it's over, subdued consumer demand will revive quickly, the dynamism of China's economy will rebound strongly and the market will continue to grow, as we continue to advance reform and opening up.

But I do see one issue. Given the U.S. highest-level travel advisory against China, it will bring some practical challenges to the implementation of the agreement. We hope the U.S. will think about how it can respect the WHO's professional advice and refrain from imposing unnecessary trade and travel restrictions. As long as the two sides are working together, implementation will be good. China will keep up its end of the bargain. We hope the U.S. will do the same.

Will China negotiate for any change to the phase-one trade deal? And what are your expectations for phase two?

There is no need to adjust the phase-one agreement. It is not only about trade, but also encompasses other aspects such as intellectual property rights protection, exchange rates and financial services.

At the moment, what we hope to do is to concentrate on the implementation of the agreement. We want to see real tangible results, which will help bring China-U.S. trade toward sound and healthy development and help global economic growth. In this way, we will accumulate experience and be able to then proceed to phase-two trade talks.

Yesterday, the U.S. charged Huawei of stealing trade secrets from U.S. companies. What is the Chinese Government's response?

We don't understand why the U.S., a superpower, is employing its state power and mobilizing its allies to attack Huawei, which is a 100-percent private company. It has developed itself in market competition, relying on its own diligence, hard work and wisdom. Maybe the only reason that the U.S. is doing this is because Huawei is doing too well. So while U.S. companies can excel and succeed, why can't a Chinese company succeed by relying on its own efforts?

I'm afraid the U.S. has dark intentions sometimes. It doesn't want to see other countries develop. It doesn't want to see other countries' businesses grow and succeed. It spreads false rumors to smear these companies. The U.S. claims that Huawei products have the backdoor to undermine U.S. national security. But so far it hasn't produced any credible evidence.

As we can see from Wikileaks and the [Edward] Snowden incident, other telecommunications companies are actually the ones doing these things. Huawei has publicly pledged that it can sign a no-backdoor agreement with any government and organization if they wish so. Huawei wants to clear its name and show its transparency in this legal form. Isn't that enough? Why are there still attempts to attack it? It doesn't make sense and it's immoral.

Fortunately, many countries, including the UK and Germany, have not been misled by these rumors. While they are doing their best to secure their telecommunications infrastructure, they are trying to provide a level playing field for businesses from other countries, including Huawei. I believe this is a practice consistent with market rules. These countries are making the sensible and correct decision as independent sovereign states.

So are China and the U.S. then inevitably headed for a clash of civilizations?

The so-called clash of civilizations is a false argument. We are in the 21st century and human civilization is quite advanced. If anyone is trying to clamor for or even to create a clash of civilizations, he is trying to reverse the wheels of history.

We advocate that all civilizations are equal and no one is superior to the others. All civilizations are grounded in the unique history and culture of that particular country, and each civilization has its own unique values. The world is a diverse and colorful place. What we call for is mutual respect and learning among different civilizations and joint efforts to seek common progress.

Those who agitate for a clash of civilizations, subconsciously still believe in the superiority of Western civilizations. They are not prepared to accept the development and revitalization of non-Western civilizations. Western countries have developed already and other countries need faster development. This is our integral right. We believe that only when all countries enjoy development, can our world be prosperous and stable, and we can all live in peace in this global village and this planet we call home.

So how does China convince the U.S. that it and its political system are not a threat, or should not have to be, anyway?

The U.S. system and model are the choices of the American people. We do not intervene in the internal affairs of the U.S. By the same token, socialism with Chinese characteristics is the choice of the Chinese people, and it has already proven hugely successful. The U.S. should respect this choice.

For countries with different systems, as long as they observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, particularly the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of states and respect for countries' sovereignty, there won't be any threat to anyone. For China, we stand ready to work with the U.S. on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to build and grow this long-term and stable relationship of peace and friendship. That is our set policy. However, the U.S. is doing the opposite. It has been upping its pressure on China and blaming and bashing China. The facts are clear for everyone to see.

For example, the National People's Congress, the top legislature of China, has never introduced any bill on the internal affairs of the U.S. However, the U.S. Congress has reviewed and adopted one bill after another that blatantly interferes in China's internal affairs. China has never sent its military vessels and aircraft around the U.S. to flex its muscle, yet U.S. naval ships and airplanes have been flexing their muscle at China's doorstep. China has never sanctioned any U.S. business. On the contrary, we welcome U.S. businesses to invest in China, providing them with a sound business environment. However, the U.S. has taken every opportunity and means to suppress Chinese companies. It has introduced unilateral sanctions against them by exercising long-arm jurisdiction and tried to limit China's development rights. It is not China threatening the U.S., but the U.S. threatening China. This is what needs to be addressed.

Last question. Could we come back to the very first question in this interview? What are the lessons that China is learning from this coronavirus?

Human society has evolved in the fight against various epidemics. It may occur in one country today, and in another country tomorrow. Public health security is therefore a common challenge for the world. But to be fair, China has done a good job so far in responding to the epidemic. When it is over, we will of course look back and summarize experiences to see what can be done to improve our public health services, including our capacity.

As we improve ourselves, we will also help with the capacity building of other countries that have weak public health systems. For example, we introduced eight major initiatives in China's cooperation with Africa, one of which focuses specifically on public health. We will continue to promote public health cooperation with African countries, similar to our help during the Ebola outbreak.

Other countries also have a part to play in this regard. When the H1N1 flu started in the U.S. in 2009, it caused serious damage, affecting 214 countries and regions in the world. The U.S. needs to look back and learn from this experience. Overall, public health is a common subject for the entire world. We need to work together to combine our strengths.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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