U.S. should work with China to defeat COVID-19, says Guyana's ex-president

A man receives COVID-19 test at a mobile testing site in New York, the United States, on Aug. 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"Instead of making COVID-19 an international political football, we should seek total co-operation to end this deadly disease. If China and America work together and take the lead in fighting COVID-19 together, the whole world would be better for it and the sooner we would be free of the pandemic," said Donald Ramotar, former president of Guyana.

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United States should work with China to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic instead of using the virus as a "political football" to distract attention from its domestic woes, according to the former president of Guyana, Donald Ramotar.

In a letter published recently in the daily Guyana Chronicle, Ramotar laid out the reasons Washington latched onto the debunked "lab leak" theory, saying it helped deflect attention from its tragic mishandling of the pandemic, which led to the United States experiencing the biggest outbreak of cases worldwide.

As Trump's successor, U.S. President Joe Biden has found it politically expedient to continue the blame game at a time when "the need for global co-operation has never been stronger than now," said Ramotar.

A student waits to receive a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination point of Wenshu middle school in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

Ramotar urged Washington to change tack and collaborate with Beijing, noting China was able to quickly bring its outbreak under control and even spur economic recovery.

"China's contribution to this cause has been second to none. Its approach has helped it to recover quickly from the effects of COVID-19 and is having positive economic growth," said Ramotar.

"Instead of making COVID-19 an international political football, we should seek total co-operation to end this deadly disease. If China and America work together and take the lead in fighting COVID-19 together, the whole world would be better for it and the sooner we would be free of the pandemic," he said. ■