Interview: Greek ex-PM says int'l community interested in China's post-pandemic development plan
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E-mail Xinhua, May 20, 2020
by Yu Shuaishuai, Li Xiaopeng, Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The international community has great interest in the upcoming China's "two sessions" and the country's development plan for the post COVID-19 period, former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told Xinhua here in a written interview.
"At the moment everyone is looking at China and hoping to learn from your experience as you are the first country that was able to put the pandemic under control. You are also ahead in getting back to a sense of normal," he said.
The former Greek leader, who has visited China many times and has been closely following the developments in China, made his most recent trip to China in October last year to attend the Understanding China Conference.
Papandreou also participated in a videoconference held by the International Advisory Board of the Silk Road Think Tank Association in late April.
Commending China's fight against the novel coronavirus, the former Greek leader especially noted that the residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan "showed a heroic discipline" following the strict confinement measures.
Massive testing, he said, which China has conducted, may be the interim answer until people find forms of therapy.
In the coming months, China will face the task of implementing a post COVID-19 development plan, he noted.
When asked about China's development momentum against the pandemic backdrop, he noted that almost all countries in the world have been hit by the pandemic and they are facing enormous economic fallout from this crisis.
Much will depend on how quickly governments can adopt the necessary recovery measures and readapt their priorities, he explained.
"Our recovery policies should be an opportunity to better our societies. For example, recovery investment should prioritize green and sustainable development; it should prioritize public support systems in health and education. It will be crucial to take these into account, so not only the economic, but the social parameters of the crisis," Papandreou said.
He also highlighted the need for coordinated global response in face of a pandemic.
"We all faced our own difficulties during the outbreak of the epidemic. What is of utmost importance is to work together, learn from each other's experience and collectively combat these types of viruses," Papandreou told Xinhua. Enditem
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