China’s Anti-Pandemic Actions Convey Great Confidence

By Ada Wong

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the year 2020 very special. When faced with the spreading pandemic， China has firmly stood with the world and taken up its responsibility as a great nation.

With its strenuous efforts， China basically brought the spread of the virus under control within one month and reduced the number of new cases to single digits within two months. It took about 3 months to win the battles in Wuhan City and Hubei Province. Chinas hard work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has shown its great power and confidence to the whole world.

Showing responsibility as a great nation

The national meeting to commemorate role models in the fight against COVID-19 was held on September 8， 2020 in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping presented recipients with the Medal of the Republic and national honorary titles， and delivered important remarks at the meeting.

The everlasting Chinese spirit represents the great power of the strong and resilient Chinese peoples unstoppable journey towards rejuvenation. The battle against the COVID-19 pandemic reflects the advancement of Chinese peoples great spirits under the new conditions of our time. Xi Jinping said，“in the life-or-death battle against this severe pandemic， the Chinese people have shown their bravery， have fought and succeeded， and have developed the anti-pandemic mindset of putting peoples lives first， uniting the whole country as one， disregarding personal safety， respecting science and sharing the common destiny.” This great anti-pandemic sentiment contains the great spiritual power to encourage the people of China to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The fight against the pandemic is a testimony to the implementation of core socialist values and a reflection of modern spirits of Chinese people， as well as the spiritual advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics and spirit of China.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus， Director-General of the World Health Organization （WHO）， called for international society to borrow from Chinese experiences and wisdom in the sphere of virus control and prevention：“China is doing the right thing. What we need now is unification.” Chinas proposal of the concept of “Community of a Shared Future for Mankind” and working together in fighting epithet pandemic has become the common sentiment of international society， vividly displaying Chinas image and responsibility as a great nation.

Contributing wisdom in terms of virus control and prevention

China quickly shared information about epithet pandemic with the world and communicated its experiences in virus control and prevention， providing great support to the global fight against the virus. After the outbreak of the pandemic， China reported the information to the WHO and related countries and regions in the first instance， sharing the virus genome sequence data and specific primers and probes for the detection of novel coronavirus， and also regularly reported virus-related information to the WHO and other countries. China has worked with ASEAN， the European Union， the African Union， APEC， CARICOM （the Caribbean Community）， SCO （the Shanghai Cooperation Organization） and other international and regional organizations， and countries including South Korea， Japan， Russia， the U.S. and Germany， in order to initiate more than 70 virus control and prevention communication activities. The COVID-19 diagnosis and prevention solutions compiled by Chinas National Health Commission were translated into three languages and shared with more than 180 countries and a dozen international and regional organizations. China also worked with the WHO to hold briefings on Chinas experiences in terms of its COVID-19 response.

As control was gained over the pandemic， China recovered its production of masks and protective clothing， in order to contribute Chinese power to the global battle against the virus. According to the General Customs Administration， from March 2020 to the end of 2020， national customs inspected and cleared virus-prevention materials with a total value of RMB 438.5 billion， including 224.1 billion masks with a value of RMB 340 billion. Statistically， China has provided approximately 40 masks for each person of the world.

China has not only contributed medical materials， but has also contrib- uted its wealth of experience in virus control and prevention. China has been a leading force in the world in terms of vaccine R&D and encouraging businesses to work with foreign countries in the sphere of vaccine development.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， China has provided aid related to vaccines to more than 50 developing countries， including Pakistan， and is exporting vaccines to more than 20 countries across the world.

Chinas donation of the vaccine to Pakistan has already been delivered. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attended a launching ceremony in Pakistan to mark the start of the COVID-19 vaccination drive using China-aided vaccines， and witnessed the administration of the first dose of the vaccine to a frontline healthcare worker. Imran Khan expressed heartfelt his thanks to China for providing vaccine aid to Pakistan， saying that the Chinese government took on the concerns of Pakistan as if they were its own， with the Chinese team acting swiftly and effectively.

The vaccine donated by the Chinese government arrived in Zimbabwe on February 15， 2020. Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that China had chosen Zimbabwe as part of the first group of vaccine-aid destination countries， attesting to the fact that the Peoples Republic of China is indeed a true friend of Zimbabwe. Although China needs the vaccine itself， it is still providing help with vaccines to developing countries such as Zimbabwe， showing its honorable role in the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. This batch of vaccines will bring the bright light of hope for Zimbabwes fight against the virus.

The Bolivian government signed a COVID-19 vaccine cooperation agreement with Sinopharm on Feb. 11. Bolivian president Luis Arce attended the signing ceremony and said that Bolivia and China share a long-term friendship. Bolivia sincerely thanked the Chinese government and the Chinese people for their support during this time. Sinopharms vaccine is of a very good quality， which has garnered it wide attention across the world. It is believed that the agreement will enable the wide administration of vaccine doses in Bolivia， in order to ensure the health of the Bolivian people.

The first batch of donated vaccines for Equatorial Guinea has also arrived in Malabo. The president of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo received the vaccine on February 15. He said that China is a close friend of Equatorial Guinea and also of Africa. Chinas vaccine will save the lives of many African people：“I personally congratulate and praise this wonderful gesture from China.”

Serbia is the first European country that has implemented the largescale administration of Chinese coronavirus vaccines. Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that China offered to help Serbia after the outbreak of vaccine. China is the first country to provide vaccines for Serbia. This batch of vaccine is a testimony to the great friendship between Serbia and China.

Singapores Institute of Southeast Asian Studies said that a survey targeting government officials and scholars in ASEAN countries shows that most of their praise goes to China among the countries providing aid and support to ASEANs battle against the virus.

The institute also mentions that approximately 44.2% of the surveyed people praised China for its considerable aid in terms of vaccines and medical equipment. Japan ranks the second， with 18.2% of participants voting for it.

It is reported that， with regards to which country has the most strategic and political influence in Southeast Asia， the survey shows China as ranking first， accounting for the votes 49.1% of all the surveys participants. The U.S. ranked second， accounting for 30.4%. Furthermore， China accounted for 76.3% of responses to the survey in terms of which country was ranked as having the strongest economic influence.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading across the world， and the pressure of “preventing transmission from abroad and newly-added cases within” still exists. This requires better coordination between virus control and economic and social development， in order to consolidate hard-won achievements in economic growth.