When he welcomed US President Donald Trump to Beijing’s Forbidden City in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed to the character “peace” in the names of all three halls of the great complex, emphasizing the Confucian maxim “Peace is prized above all.”

Pakistan is struggling to contain COVID-19 due to a lack of resources and its flawed government systems. But rather than facing the blame of starting the pandemic, China will emerge as a benefactor and ally, in the minds of the Pakistani public.

The coronavirus demonstrates the need for broader cooperation between China and the U.S. Now is not the time to decouple the bilateral relationship.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global production to come to a grinding halt, and the economic fallout is far more abysmal than economists and leaders seem to recognize. The plan for recovery that is currently being enacted will do little to mitigate the inevitable devastation in our near future.

The public must be cautious against simplifications and conspiracy theories when faced with complex problems such as the latest coronavirus outbreak.

People of goodwill can see for themselves that China acted responsibly and transparently during the coronavirus outbreak. It bought precious time for the United States and others to respond. Unfortunately, the opportunity was wasted.

This week, leaders from medicine, economics, politics, and civil society are uniting to demand immediate and coordinated international action – in the next few days – to mobilize the resources needed to address the COVID-19 crisis, prevent the current health catastrophe from becoming one of the worst in history, and avert a global depression. As a letter to the world’s leaders notes, because we are so far behind the COVID-19 curve, many lives are being lost needlessly, other health issues are being ignored, and societies and economies are being devastated.

Tariffs and blame-games have only complicated China and the United States’ response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Instead, cooperation could not only contribute to improving global and economic health but also help resolve other issues that are eroding the bilateral relationship today.

Pointing fingers at China is not only unfair but also counterproductive. Nor is it helpful to blame the Trump administration in the United States for its unconscionably slow response, even after seeing China’s experience unfold. Rather, this is a time to unite and help each other.

Global financial conditions, including heavy debt, are nearing a tipping point that could lead to protracted trouble. Protectionism and other factors risk disrupting the world’s fragile supply chains and driving the world into a 1930s-grade catastrophe.