Despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen chose to make an official visit to China on Feb 5, calling Beijing a “true friend”, vowing to uphold cooperation with the country and showing support for Cambodian residents who have been in the country during the outbreak.

The response of Cambodia stands vastly different to that of some other countries in the world who sought not to express solidarity or support with China, but to place distance with themselves and Beijing, with the United States, Australia and others restricting travel completely between their countries and the Chinese mainland.

Hun Sen’s decision to visit is a timely reminder that the only way forwards in resolving this crisis is cooperation and good will, and not fear-mongering

Whilst the individual sovereignty and efforts of governments to protect their national interests and public health cannot be faulted, nevertheless this visit is a reminder that some nations have opted for hysteria and even politics, than wholly reasonable measures.

Thus as the silver lining emerges that new cases in the rest of China outside of Hubei are on the decline, Hun’s decision to visit is a timely reminder that the only way forwards in resolving this crisis is cooperation and good will, and not fear-mongering.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, many different countries have reacted in different ways. Their responses have largely been based on a level of threat perception and an effort to break their own population, but that does not mean every country has acted firmly within reason or good faith, with mainstream media hysteria whipping up fear to eyewatering levels.

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In tandem, some countries have saw potential opportunities in doing this, such as the United States with comments from Wilbur Ross, Mike Pompeo and a sweeping travel ban on incoming foreign nations from the Chinese mainland, something which other countries have followed suit with perhaps a pre-caution.

The solidarity and empathy of Cambodia’s government towards China will certainly go a long way, and it should serve to remind us that the way forwards through this situation is cooperation

But Cambodia is different, why? Although it is a much poorer country, with so much more to lose if it suffered from an outbreak, nevertheless it is a close partner of China and recognizes the bigger picture that cooperation with Beijing on a reasonable level is within its long term interests.

Cambodia is smaller, less developed and has had a more turbulent history than the rest of its South East Asian neighbours. By working with China, Cambodia in fact realizes it can vouch for its interests on a regional level through Beijing’s diplomatic support. In doing so, Hun Sen perceives that a message of support rather than differentiation is the best solution and way forwards for both countries.

It is very easy to close up the border, sever contact and stay away, but in the long run that isn’t good for Cambodia, that isn’t good for China and that isn’t good for the world. Instead, Hun Sen has chosen pragmatically to put faith and support in the government’s ability to respond to the outbreak.

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And in turn there is good news emerging: For the past few days the proportion of new cases outside of the Hubei area has decreased continually and have not gained momentum, suggesting efforts at containment are beginning to show indicators of success, something the mainstream media are not giving credit for.

Thus what is the message of this visit? That the right thing to do is to support China’s efforts and the people of the country, rather than to spread a politics of fear, hysteria and even opportunity. The solidarity and empathy of Cambodia’s government towards China will certainly go a long way, and it should serve to remind us that the way forwards through this situation is cooperation.

Whilst precautions can and obviously should be taken, they should be nevertheless practical, measured and not excessive. As progress on containment of the virus continues to yield identifiable results, other nations should thus immediately start to question the viability of their travel precautions.

The author is a British political analyst, writer and columnist. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.