Editor's note: New technologies can help give patients in less developed areas access to more equitable healthcare. However, the United States is pursuing a path that might hinder the sharing of these benefits around the world. Andy Mok, research fellow at Center for China and Globalization, shares his view on the possible impacts of the current international political environment on tech advances. The opinions expressed in the video are his own, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Andy Mok: A lot of media attention regarding COVID-19 has focused on developed economies like the U.S., Western Europe, and also China. I think what gets ignored is what's happening in places like India, like Africa, even Latin America.

And here's where advances in technology – AI and 5G – can really make a difference, because (in) a lot of these places, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of healthcare resources. So whether that's telemedicine, where doctors in China and the U.S. can diagnose patients in places that are far away and traditionally inaccessible, is very, very valuable.

Treatment also has been done. Companies like Huawei have rolled out treatments, whether that's telemedicine, whether that's robotics powered by 5G and AI, to deliver more equitable healthcare around the world. I think this is a very important subject that is often overlooked.

I think the direction the world takes will depend a lot on the U.S. and China since these are the world's tech superpowers. Now unfortunately, I think the U.S. is pursuing a path of tech isolationism, and combined with its other foreign policy choices, is making the U.S. more and more of a pariah and even a rogue state.

So countries around the EU and other parts of the world are now thinking that the future really lies in working with China. And as a result of that, I think what we will see, as a result of COVID-19, is the trend which involves more robust supply chains, but more and more, there will be supply chains that unfortunately may exclude the U.S., and as a result, advancements will benefit the rest of the world.

Interviewer: Zhou Xin

Graphic design: Qu Bo

Video editing: Liu Shasha

Managing editor: Zhou Xin

Senior producer: Wei Wei

Managing director: Mei Yan

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com)