Editor's note: Jiang Shixue is a professor at the Institute of Global Studies at Shanghai University. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

A success story is valuable as it acts as a benchmark for the evaluation of others. The success of China's war against the COVID-19 pandemic can tell why Brazil needs to learn from the Chinese experience.

Compared with other countries around the world, coronavirus hit Brazil relatively late. On February 26, the first case was reported in the city of Sao Paulo. Now Brazil has become the second hardest-hit country in the world, after the United States. According to the WHO, there are more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients and more than 40,000 died.

China's experience shows that four conditions are necessary for the efforts to contain the pandemic: The nation's overall strength, a correct and effective anti-COVID-19 strategy, adequate medical resources and respect for government regulation of lockdown and quarantine. These four conditions must exist at the same time.

First, on national strength, one can see that in Wuhan, China, to meet the surging demand for medical supplies and hospital beds, two new emergency hospitals, Huoshenshan and Leishenshan, and more than ten temporary hospitals were built within a very short period of time. At the same time, many doctors and nurses were sent to Wuhan and other areas in Hubei Province.

Brazil's health authority has repeatedly issued warnings about a lack of hospital beds, masks, testing devices and trained staff in the nation. It has built a few temporary hospitals, but the shortage is still there.

Second, on the strategy of fighting the virus, cutting off or reducing human-to-human contact is an extremely important preventive measure. In China, in addition to the lockdown in Wuhan, the central government implemented a series of stringent quarantine measures all over the nation.

In Brazil, only a few states have imposed lockdown and tough measures, but the federal government has never implemented nationwide preventive measures.

Indeed, leadership at the highest level of government is crucial in facing the pandemic. Like U.S. President Donald Trump, however, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also believes that COVID-19 is "una pequeña gripe" (a little flu). He is against the lockdown, fearing that the economy will suffer. Many observers have blamed Bolsonaro's for his wrong pandemic strategy.

Brazil's health authority, with respect for science, has repeatedly proposed that tough quarantine measures should be taken. However, with the deaf ears of Bolsonaro, two health ministers have left the position one after another: one was fired and the other resigned.

Third, like on the military battlefield, adequate ammunition is one of the necessary conditions for defeating the enemy, on the medical battlefield in an epidemic, sufficient medical resources are equally important.

China can mobilize its industrial manufacturing capacity in extreme times to produce enough drugs, test protective equipment and ventilators. It can also export lifesaving items to other countries.

Brazil cannot rely on its own manufacturing capacity to produce all the medical supplies. While imports can compensate, the problem of time lag is difficult to resolve. It is not rare in Brazil that patients die from a lack of medicines or medical equipment.

Fourth, the respect for the government regulation of lockdown and quarantine is different. In China, from wearing masks to keeping social distance, and from following quarantine rules to reporting body temperature, Chinese citizens act in a cooperative way.

In Brazil, it seems that many people are not afraid of the virus. They keep on going out and engaging themselves in all kinds of social activities in a business-as-usual way. In many states, people even take to the streets to demand the lifting of restrictions and the resumption of economic activity.

In recent days, the president asked the health authority to stop publishing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country. What's worse, he also threatened to withdraw from the World Health Organization. These two actions are counterproductive to the anti-COVID-19 war not only in Brazil but also around the world.

Hopefully, the harsh reality of the pandemic in Brazil will force Bolsonaro to change his perception and strategy if possible.

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