World Insights: Foreign experts applaud CPC's philosophy of putting people first

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently praised the Chinese government for being very responsive to its people's needs and happiness, suggesting it could be "better" than the U.S. government in addressing such concerns.

Dedicating itself to the mission of serving the people, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the world's most populous country to major victories in its fights against COVID-19 and poverty, winning applause from foreign experts and officials.

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

With a strong leadership core, a people-oriented governance philosophy and well-established organization and operation mechanisms, the CPC immediately took decisive measures after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Starting on Jan. 3, 2020, on a regular basis, China began to update the World Health Organization, relevant countries and regional organizations, as well as its own regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, on the development of the disease.

Meanwhile, the country has released authoritative and detailed information to its people as early as possible to effectively respond to public concerns and build public consensus.

The Chinese government has provided free medical treatment for COVID-19 patients. All COVID-19 patients, confirmed or suspected, received subsidies from the state for any medical bills not covered by basic medical insurance, serious disease insurance, or the medical assistance fund.

Severe cases were treated by the best doctors using the most advanced equipment, and critical supplies were pooled to save lives at all costs.

Temporary treatment centers, or Fangcang shelter hospitals, were built in pandemic epicenters, a major innovative solution that helped turn the tide in the battle against COVID-19 in China.

During the fight, some 4 million Chinese community workers were working in around 650,000 urban and rural communities to guard against the disease, while millions of Chinese medical workers were grappling with the epidemic at the frontlines across the country.

To help other countries plagued by the pandemic, China has pledged to make its vaccines a global public good and called for joint efforts to build a community of health for all.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

The remarkable achievements made on the front of poverty alleviation also epitomize the people-centered philosophy of the CPC.

In 2020, all of China's nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents living below the current poverty line had left poverty behind after eight years of efforts. All 832 poor counties have now been lifted out of poverty.

The per capita net income of the poor rose from 3,416 yuan (about 510.90 U.S. dollars) in 2015 to 9,808 yuan (about 1,466.80 dollars) in 2019, an average annual growth of 30.2 percent.

Financial support, medical resources as well as technological elements have been pouring into the country's rural areas, the frontier of the historic anti-poverty fight.

As of the end of August 2020, the China Development Bank had issued 1.5 trillion yuan (about 224.3 billion dollars) in loans to support poverty relief during the past five years, the policy bank said.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 major urban hospitals in China have delivered paired assistance to hospitals in over 800 poor counties during the country's 13th Five-Year Plan period, official figures showed.

Moreover, people in 98 percent of poor villages in areas of extreme poverty now have broadband access, which has vastly narrowed the urban-rural digital gap.

At the same time, China has built 1,290 innovation and entrepreneurial platforms in poor areas and sent 289,800 sci-tech experts to rural areas since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

APPLAUSE FROM THE WORLD

Musk's praise of China has been echoed by other foreign experts and officials, who hold the opinion that the CPC regards the interests of the people as its top priority.

The fundamental aim of the CPC is to serve the people heart and soul, said Kingphet Mongkhonvilay, a senior official from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

In the face of the pandemic, the CPC has clearly demonstrated its dedication to the interests of the people, Mongkhonvilay added.

"As soon as the Chinese government knew about the severity of this epidemic, they moved the priority to saving lives," said Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club.

No other country could get thousands of doctors and nurses to Hubei, once the hardest-hit province in China, within days, said Perry, adding China's response was "first class."

The CPC has united "the sectors of the society to act together as a single entity," said Martin Albrow, a British sociologist based in London.

"This aspect of social governance is the secret behind China's success in combatting COVID-19 that leaves the West scratching its head for an explanation," Albrow added.

Ali al-Hefny, Egypt's former ambassador to China and former deputy foreign minister, said he agrees with Musk's praise of China.

"Musk's comment came after what he had experienced during his business expansion of eco-friendly cars" in China, where the government has emphasized many times it would raise the people's living and welfare standards, said al-Hefny.

"China has been praised for taking millions out of poverty," said Misheck Mwanza, an ex-diplomat and former director of the Zambia Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies.

It is the leadership of the CPC that helped achieve this, Mwanza said.