Kevin Rudd, president of the non-profit Asia Society Policy Institute and former Australian prime minister, delivers a speech in New York, the United States, on Dec. 5, 2018. The rise of "neo-McCarthyism" in the United States is a concern, risking evoking racism against Chinese Americans, warned Kevin Rudd here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"So hopefully this pandemic will really teach all of us a good lesson," said Cui Tiankai. "And China-U.S. relations could be based on a more realistic, forward-looking foundation."

WASHINGTON, April 22  -- With the China-U.S. relations rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic, a panel of experts has urged the two governments to enhance cooperation on vaccine development and assistance to developing countries, in order to better cope with the global crisis.

At a video discussion themed "Risks of U.S.-China 'Decoupling'" on Tuesday, part of the Bloomberg New Economy Conversation series, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd said the U.S.-China relationship has deteriorated rapidly "at virtually every level" amid the pandemic, but he hopes there is a "tactical pause in hostilities."

Rudd, who now serves as president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, called on the two countries to focus on concrete collaboration on vaccine development and collaboration in third countries.