Interview: COVID-19 pandemic won't end globalization, says scholar

Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-05 23:20:10|Editor: huaxia

ANKARA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic needs more global cooperation and won't put an end to globalization, which is an "irreversible process," said one expert.

After the virus outbreak developed into a pandemic, "theories and arguments circulated in western media related to the possible end of globalization," said Dr. Altay Atli, an Istanbul-based scholar on Asia affairs. "I don't agree with this view."

"Globalization is an irreversible process... It is not possible to act after this pandemic as if globalization has come to an end and that everyone has to close its doors amid rising protectionism," he told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"This virus has shown us how global cooperation is of utmost importance and it is up to us, as mankind, to draw the necessary lessons from it for a better shared future," he argued.

While stressing that globalization would continue after the pandemic, he also underlined the need to address its "shortcomings" for "a more egalitarian and cooperative" model.

Asia will safeguard globalization and advance its technology hubs and supply chains, as China's businesses are gradually returning to normal, the scholar stressed.

He urged nations around the world to act in coordination to tackle the crisis.

Atli indicated that the fight against the pandemic needs the engagement of every nation. He praised China for fighting COVID-19 and assisting other countries in need.

He said that in the long run stronger global collaboration will be needed to detect and fight the next pandemic.

"Coronavirus has made no distinctions between countries or races, and it affects everybody on our planet. Because of this, we should fight the battle together and globally," he added.

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