WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- It has never been "so critical" that the nations of the world act "for the common good of humanity" as COVID-19 continues to spread, renowned American public intellectual Robert Kuhn said.
"There has never been a time when international cooperation is needed more urgently than it is right now -- both to battle and contain the COVID-19 pandemic and to sustain and bolster the world economy," Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, said in a recent email interview with Xinhua.
"If climate change is the world's most serious chronic problem, then COVID-19 is the world's most serious acute problem. I never imagined that dealing with a real pandemic would ever become so grave so quickly," he said.
"And frankly, I never took it all that seriously," he said. "But the pandemic has burst into planetary consciousness, and dramatically demonstrates the global critical significance of 'shared future' thinking," said Kuhn, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Kuhn said stemming the spread of "pandemics" or disease falls under a vision of a "shared future," as do climate control, preventing terrorism, thwarting the spread of drugs and organized crime, and promoting scientific research.
Noting China has sent "battle tested" medical teams to countries currently under siege, Kuhn said, "China begins to bear the world's experts with contemporary, real-world experience in containing the novel coronavirus."
China's experience in containing the contagion has contributed significantly to the world's efforts to stop the pandemic and return to normal ways of life, he said.
"In so many ways, the nations of the world must act for the common good of humanity, especially in wake of the growing pandemic, and it behooves people of goodwill everywhere to work to transform the rhetoric into reality," Kuhn said.
"'Shared future' is an evocative phase, offering a much-needed new way of thinking for the world, conveying a great hope," he said. "In light of the global pandemic, the global community must take collective ownership of the grand vision."
"The vision is vital for our turbulent times. All nations should recognize humanity's common destiny so that together we can build a bright future," he said.
