From Davos to Yabuli, Three Things I Did Not Expect

The night before last, with the first heavy snowfall in Heilongjiang this winter, I came to Yabuli for the 20th anniversary of the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum. The last time I saw snow was the beginning of this year during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

I heard of the possible outbreak in China while I was in Davos, but I never imagined I would be involved in fighting the epidemic as soon as I came back. I managed to mobilize supplies from all over the world to support Wuhan and other cities in their efforts to combat the outbreak. More unexpectedly, the epidemic spread globally, and we have been fighting the pandemic since then.

From Davos at the beginning of the year to Yabuli at the end, we have witnessed so much we did not expect.

The first thing I did not expect was a seemingly tiny virus that was able to stop the world in its tracks. SARS remains fresh in the memory of Chinese people, so at the initial outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, I was clinging to a strand of hope that the virus would disappear with warmer weather just as SARS did. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is far more cunning than SARS, and today’s world is far more interconnected than the one 17 years ago and therefore more affected by the pandemic. Until now, global transit was under lockdown, and we could not get back to our normal lives. Facing the heavy snow in Yabuli, my deepest feeling was that human beings are still so weak in the face nature. A tiny virus can press pause on all mankind.

The second thing I did not expect was the rapid speed of vaccine development. During the outbreak in January, institutions around the globe, including Fosun Pharma, kicked off vaccine research and development. Past experience has taught us that we have always been caught unawares when facing the “invasion” of viruses such as SARS, MERS, and Ebola. Everyone at that time thought it would be a long journey. However, this time, there has been close and effective international cooperation. Since this March, the joint development of mRNA vaccines has been carried out by BioNTech, Pfizer, and us—Fosun Pharma. With the joint R&D capabilities and collaborative efforts of China and the world, it only took us eight months to announce the results of global phase III clinical data on November 18. The efficacy rate has exceeded 95%, far more than that of previous vaccines against an epidemic. This global vaccine development has created a miracle in the history of science and technology. The great energy that bursts out of innovation and cooperation is why human beings have thrived and prospered for generations.

The third thing that I did not expect was that this epidemic only further proved the need for globalization. I remember during Davos at the beginning of the year, I was concerned about the impact of anti-globalization. At that time, I had been calling on global enterprises to strengthen cooperation and stand up to the headwind of anti-globalization when communicating with entrepreneurs around the globe. The epidemic is still wreaking havoc at present, and global transit has been interrupted by hampered communication. Many people are wondering, will the epidemic accelerate the pace of anti-globalization? From my perspective, the disruption of international communication by the virus has made people miss the days when we were closely connected without any barriers and only reminds us of the need for globalization. Many domestic ski-lovers are itching to go skiing this year. They cannot go to the Alps or Hokkaido, but fortunately, we can still go skiing in Yabuli. Because of this, I think that once the vaccine is ready for distribution, with the resumption of global transit, the tourism industry will come back with a ‘revenge’ rebound, followed by the recovery of the global retail and aviation industries.

This epidemic has given us all a first-hand experience of a "community of common destiny for mankind", and I believe that the ultimate victory must depend on the unity and cooperation of mankind and the power of globalization. With the approaching success of domestic and overseas vaccine development, there will be more and more good news. I hope that the beautiful snow in the early winter can sweep away the haze of the epidemic and herald a healthier and brighter New Year!