A state-sponsored Chinese think tank is evaluating international opinion on the formation of the country’s own alternative to the World Health Organization (WHO), in response to the public relations disaster caused by the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
An employee of the think tank, CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute, wrote that the institution was considering the establishment of a China-based health organization comparable to the WHO. The employee then asked members of the Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership, an Israeli non-profit dedicated to forming closer ties with China, how the non-profit would view such a development.
“According to our analysis, the situation of coronavirus around the world is urgent, therefore, we consider that perhaps the world needs a leadership country/organization coordinating all the countries affected in fighting against coronavirus, just like the leadership role of U.S. in W.H.O.,” the employee wrote in a message obtained by Axios.
China has been struggling to contain the fallout from the outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in the city of Wuhan. The government has recently attempted to take control of the public narrative by branding China’s response as a possible model for other countries to follow, including the U.S.
China has over 80,000 confirmed cases of the illness with almost 3,000 deaths. Beijing has faced withering criticism from its own citizens over the government’s handling of the outbreak, including Wuhan authorities’ decision to punish several doctors who warned of the outbreak. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, later died after contracting the coronavirus.