Asian political party officials called for concerted action to tackle the common threat of COVID-19 via an ongoing online conference.

The Asian Political Parties Online Conference under the theme of "Forging Synergy against COVID-19" is co-hosted by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (IDCPC) and the Secretariat of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) Standing Committee.

Guo Yezhou, vice minister of the IDCPC, stressed COVID-19, as a common challenge for humanity, not only gravely threatened lives and safety of the world's peoples, but also poses unprecedented challenges to Asian countries in safeguarding public health security.

"Today, many Asian countries are devoting utmost efforts to fighting the outbreak," Guo said. "At this crucial juncture, Asian political parties must take concerted actions to play a positive role in epidemic prevention and control."

Guo said China's epidemic response had drawn intense interest and indeed promoted great solidarity from both the ICAPP and political parties in Asian countries, further expressing the willingness of the CPC to share China's response experiences and solutions.

Jhalanath Khanal, secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Nepal Communist Party, said humanity faced unprecedented challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. "At this trying time, closer cooperation among countries and parties, especially in Asia, is necessary," he said.

It is the common responsibility of all countries to protect and cure people facing the coronavirus, and to create synergy to deal with the growing health crisis, said Jhalanath Khanal, also member of the ICAPP Standing Committee.

Ardy Susanto, head of the Energy Trade System and Law Department of the National Awakening Party in Indonesia, also emphasized the urgency of a joint response by the international community. "COVID-19 is not a problem facing China alone, but a common threat affronting the whole world and needs to be dealt with by all countries together."

China has been devoting its utmost effort in an exhaustive manner to meeting this challenge ranging from isolating virus strains to developing antiviral drugs, said Ardy Susanto, also general chairperson of the Indonesia-Chinese Youth Association. "The Indonesian people will always support the efforts China has made in these aspects."

Wee Ka Siong, president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, said, "So long as people of all countries, regardless of nationality or race, remain united and work with one mind, we will win the battle against the epidemic and let people return to their normal and peaceful life."

The online conference, opening Monday, is currently scheduled to run for five days. Its content includes speeches and statements by the leaders of Asian political parties on the fight against COVID-19, presentations on the experiences of various countries and the latest information on cooperation in battling the pandemic.

The ICAPP is an important multilateral forum for political parties in Asia. The online conference can be accessed via the official IDCPC website (http://www.idcpc.org.cn/english) and the official ICAPP website (http://theicapp.org).

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