The outbreak of novel coronavirus has sparked global concern. It is a common challenge facing humankind and requires joint efforts of all countries. Research is an integral part of the outbreak response. Bringing the global scientific community together and harnessing the collective wisdom is critical to battle the epidemic.

    On the basis of mutual trust established through long-term and close cooperation, we (the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the UK Medical Research Council, UK Research and Innovation) call upon and will jointly mobilize, coordinate and align funding to support the scientific communities to:

     1.    Address the urgent priorities for research as part of a global coordinated effort to enhance understanding of the novel coronavirus including development of rapid diagnostics, disease prevention and containment, and prediction of its epidemic trend, so as to provide a scientific basis for strategic analysis and decisions, as well as effective prevention and control measures.

    2.    Ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly to inform the public health response, reassure the public, and enable rational, evidence-based decisions to be made in the fight against the epidemic.

    3.    Promote communication and openness: engage in international academic exchanges, share research outcomes, and provide a source of wisdom for global research, prevention and control of the epidemic.

    4.    In-line with global efforts towards epidemic preparedness, adopt a long-term perspective: strengthen international collaboration and research in areas that will strengthen future epidemic response such as epidemiology, virology and emergency management, and provide policy suggestions and fundamental guarantees for humanity to find shared answers to shared problems.

    We believe that, by bringing together global knowledge, science can provide recommendations on the way forward for epidemic prevention and control, and for global public health in general.