A Unique Advantage
China’s political-sociocultural system has enabled it to mobilize all its resources with lightning speed to fight the novel coronavirus.
It is the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics espoused by the Communist Party of China (CPC) that has helped concentrate medical experts and resources to provide treatment to people infected with the virus on a massive scale and then mobilize other resources to limit the infections while keeping life and the economy going.
In the fight against the epidemic, China’s institutional advantages have been evident, primarily in two aspects. First, the entire country has united as one and taken swift action.
On January 25, President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Party’s Political Bureau, where it was decided that a group would be formed to lead the work on epidemic prevention and control. Under the group, several working groups were set up to cover seriously affected areas, such as Hubei Province in central China.
Following the meeting, all 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland activated a top-level public health emergency response, which included drawing up preventive measures for communities. The measures were immediately carried out by communities throughout the country, presenting a striking contrast to the situation in the United States when it grappled with the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. At that time, it took former U.S. President Barack Obama six months to declare the flu a national emergency.
Health workers and medical resources from all over China have been rapidly concentrated and sent to support Wuhan, capital city of Hubei, which has been the worst affected. With infection control in Wuhan the top priority, the Central Government has sent more than 32,000 health workers to Hubei. Medical supplies such as protective suits, surgical masks, medical gloves and goggles from the national medical reserves are being transported to Wuhan on an urgent basis, and production of medical equipment has been accelerated across the country to ensure a steady flow of supplies.
The comprehensive planning has also seen the Central Government pair up 19 provinces and municipalities with 16 cities and prefectures in Hubei other than Wuhan to assist them. Two hospitals that together provide about 2,500 beds for severe cases were built in Wuhan in 10 days each. Several of these measures have been lauded by the international community, media and medical organizations.
Actions speak louder than words. The handling of a severe epidemic has shown the worth of China’s system.