China’s virus response wins broad kudos

Success on health and economic fronts boosts govt’s image at home and abroad

It makes more people realize the absurdity of the US media’s logic: The death toll of the US is much higher, so the US contributes more to the fight against the pandemic.”

Li Haidong, professor at the China Foreign Affairs University

China’s success in containing its coronavirus outbreak and securing an economic revival is earning more and more plaudits at home and abroad, a range of indicators shows.

The Chinese mainland topped the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index that ranks more than 120 countries and regions on infection management, vaccine rollout and social mobility.

According to the index released in mid-July, China was assessed with the highest score of 76.5, out of a maximum of 90. The United States, with the most COVID-19 infections and deaths, was ranked 22nd with 61.5. The US had earlier placed No. 1 in a COVID-Resilience Ranking put out by Bloomberg, a ranking that many dismiss as dubious.

A higher ranking on Nikkei’s index indicates that a country or region is closer to recovery, with low numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases, higher vaccination rates and less-stringent social distancing measures.

China’s economy grew by 7.9 percent in the second quarter of 2021 compared with a year earlier and 12.7 percent for the first half of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In Asia, Qatar and Singapore also made it into the top 10 of the Nikkei list, tied at fifth with a score of 67. Japan and South Korea ranked 48th and 50th, respectively.

Trust at all levels

China’s success in fighting COVID-19 — enabling a swift return to normal economic and social conditions — has boosted its people’s trust in the government, at all levels.

A poll published in The Washington Post in May shows that Chinese citizens’ trust in their national government increased to 98 percent.

The survey was conducted in late April last year, and 19,816 people from 31 provinces or provincial-level administrative regions across China were interviewed.

The result compares with a trust level of 95 percent in the 2018 World Values Survey, which means citizens “have a great deal or quite a lot of trust in national government”.

Unlike some developed countries that have been hoarding COVID-19 vaccines for their own benefit, China has not only cared about its own people but also lent a helping hand to many other countries.

So far, China has provided more than 500 million doses and concentrates of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 100 countries and international organizations, about one-sixth of the total global output.

Andy Brooks, general secretary of New Communist Party of Britain, earlier told China Daily that “China has led the world in tackling the pandemic and providing immense assistance to others in the battle against coronavirus”.

Overseas standing

Such a commitment in the fight against the pandemic has also improved China’s image overseas, a poll released in June shows.

As for Bloomberg’s latest COVID Resilience Ranking, many have dismissed it as ridiculous and “a mockery of all independent impartial and objective polls around the world”. In the ranking released on June 28, the US’ top ranking was accompanied by the appraisal that the country is “the best place to be during the pandemic”.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, said the standard of Bloomberg’s ranking system is ludicrous and “categories seem to be sometimes removed or added in accordance with the needs of Washington political fixers”.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the US has the most COVID-19 infections of any country, with more than 34 million confirmed cases and more than 610,000 deaths by Friday.

“It makes more people realize the absurdity of the US media’s logic: The death toll of the US is much higher, so the US contributes more to the fight against the pandemic,” Li said in an opinion article published on Global Times.