Gerhard Wiesheu, DJW Chairman

International cooperation more important than ever – Japan and Germany could lead by example

2020-06-24, 23:12

The Covid 19 pandemic is an event of the century  only comparable to the Spanish flu of 1918–1920. Under great uncertainty, politicians had to react quickly and initially gave top priority to protecting the health of the population. Accordingly, everything was done to prevent the exponential spread of the virus. However, this procedure also paralysed public life and economic activity to a large extent. A political conflict of objectives between the protection of health and the protection of the income of the population and companies thus became apparent. According to calculations by the major Swiss bank UBS, the rescue packages of the states to secure income have so far amounted to around 4% of global GDP  more than twice as in the financial market crisis of 2009. Many states have thus gone to the limits of what is possible. No country will therefore be able to afford a second national lockdown. 

In addition, great progress has already been achieved since March in combating the pandemic: testing capacities have been significantly increased and the methods for tracing chains of infection have been substantially improved. There are also signs that a medicine for the treatment of patients with severe Covid-19 disease will soon be available on the market  and perhaps even a vaccine this year. Politicians can therefore once again focus more strongly on income protection. Many governments have therefore already relaxed their quarantine regulations at national level. The next step is to create travel blocks for business travellers at the international level to get world trade back on track. The European Union and Japan in particular have managed to get the pandemic well under control and therefore have the room for manoeuvre to do so. For many German companies, Japan is also the lynchpin for their business activities throughout Asia, which underlines the importance of such a measure. 

Furthermore, opening up both regions to business travelers would be an important signal that cooperation between Japan and the European Union remains very close and that people stand together even in difficult times. It is precisely this cooperation that could become increasingly important in the future in the face of global trade conflicts and increasing political attacks on the world trading system. 

ゲアハルト・ヴィースホイ(Gerhard Wiesheu)
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG 代表取締役
DJW 理事長
info@djw.de
http://www.djw.de
ゲアハルト・ヴィースホイ(Gerhard Wiesheu)
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG 代表取締役
DJW 理事長
info@djw.de
http://www.djw.de

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