During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK/US, Germany and China have taken significantly divergent approaches to address the challenges in terms of public health, economy and social welfare. This divergence might be attributed to the differences in their prevalent ideas on the responsibility of the State and on what constitutes legitimate state intervention. For the purpose of achieving a better understanding of the policy divergence in the above-mentioned countries, this article tries to explore the evolution of their ideas of the responsibility of state. It could be concluded that these ideas have been shaped by the resource endowments, cultural history and economic/political/social conditions in a certain country, thus implying an inherent historical logic. Therefore, the difference of ideas might prevail in the future. Having this in mind, a cross-cultural perspective is needed in order to construct a sustainable global governance system that will foster peaceful coexistence and common development of various cultures and civilizations.