National spirit behind China's success in fighting COVID-19, poverty

In the run-up to its centenary this year, the Communist Party of China (CPC) demonstrated its exemplary governance capability by leading the Chinese people in efficiently containing the COVID-19 outbreak and eliminating absolute poverty in the world's most populous country.

The national spirit behind both the victory over poverty and the strategic outcomes of COVID-19 control offers a glimpse into the Party's strong leadership and the nation's solidarity and strength.

Members of a military medical team head for Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

SPIRIT OF FIGHTING COVID-19

In early 2020, a previously unknown virus wreaked havoc in Hubei Province, prompting the Chinese government to take unprecedented measures to curb its rapid spread, including sealing off the hardest-hit provincial capital, Wuhan.

Defying the gloomy predictions of many foreign observers, China in just three months reduced new cases from thousands each day to zero. The Chinese leadership later attributed the success to the people's fighting spirit, which puts people's lives first and values nationwide solidarity, sacrifice, a respect for science, and a sense of purpose for humanity.

China has shown strong solidarity throughout the battle. With a mature mobilization system, China ensured that even villagers in remote mountains were aware that everyone must act as one to defeat the virus. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people answered the government's call to wear masks, stay at home and forego festive activities during the Spring Festival, the most important holiday of the year for Chinese people. Public cooperation helped China build a people's "Great Wall" against the virus.

Medical staff and resources were poured into the worst-affected cities. At the peak of the epidemic, one in 10 intensive care medics in China was working in Wuhan. Backing the nationwide mobilization was science. China swiftly erected makeshift hospitals, set up quarantine facilities and made mask-wearing compulsory. Medical treatment, rapid contact tracking and mass nucleic acid testing all contributed to the efficient control of the epidemic in a short period of time in China.

Openness and internationalism have also been features of China's fight against COVID-19 since the very beginning. Often neglected by China critics is the fact that China began to regularly update the World Health Organization and relevant countries on the new disease as early as Jan. 3, 2020.

Through the course of its intensive and wide-ranging emergency humanitarian aid, China has supplied more than 350 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines abroad, including donations to more than 80 countries.

In retrospect, the country's national spirit in combating COVID-19 has underlined the CPC's inherent people-centered philosophy, along with a globalist touch fitting into China's call for the construction of a global community with a shared future.

Poverty relief assistants Liu Ying (1st L) and He Changle (2nd L), and village officials help carry melons planted by villagers in Dongqin Village, Congjiang County of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Nov. 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

POVERTY ALLEVIATION SPIRIT

In early 2021, China announced that it had eliminated absolute poverty, after lifting its remaining 98.99 million rural residents out of poverty over the past eight years.

The announcement marked a complete victory in China's long-running campaign to end poverty. Since the late 1970s, China has lifted more than 770 million rural residents out of poverty due to continuous poverty relief efforts.

The great cause has contributed to the powerful national spirit, which also encompasses unity, innovation, bravery, dedication to the people, and targeted and practical approaches to challenges.

The spirit of the Chinese people has helped boost national morale and pool wisdom to tackle poverty in the country's poorest areas, helping China realize its goal on schedule despite the headwinds of the pandemic.

The accomplishment is a further testament to the CPC's commitment to the people. By positioning the fight against poverty as a top policy goal, the CPC has again shown that it is striving to ensure no disadvantaged groups are left behind in China's economic take-off.

Flexibility and ingenuity were highlighted in the process. China adopted a targeted poverty-relief approach and local authorities rolled out specific anti-poverty measures to suit local conditions. China has also offered to share its experience with other countries fighting poverty.

China's national spirit will continue to inspire Chinese people in their pursuit of better lives and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. ■