On June 23, Consul General Li Xuhang published a signed article in UAE mainstream newspaper Al Bayan, titled “Why Does China Adhere to the "Dynamic ‘Zero-Covid’ Policy?” The English translation of the full text is as follows:
According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the total value of China's imports and exports in May, 2022 reached 3.45 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. The growth rate rebounded sharply, exceeding market expectations. This achievement was made despite the recent outbreak of pandemics in multiple areas in China. What is the driving force behind the current growth? That is attributable to the "dynamic zero-Covid" policy that China has adopted.
"Dynamic zero-Covid" is a pandemic control and prevention policy that coordinates economic and social development. Strict pandemic control and prevention measures are only applicable to severely affected areas, while life in other places remains normal. Therefore, the normal economic and social activities in most parts of China have been maintained when Shanghai was under lockdown earlier this year. Even in cities which have been locked down, supporting measures were implemented to prioritize the basic needs of the people. As the pandemic eases, work resumption has been promoted simultaneously in an orderly manner. The Chinese government has also adopted a host of powerful measures to benefit enterprises, such as reducing taxes and fees, breaking down barriers in logistics, and stabilizing supply and industrial chains. The "dynamic zero-Covid" policy is designed to minimize the adverse impact of the pandemic on economic and social development at the earliest, and restore the economic and social order without the long term influence of the pandemic.
Hence, the positive performance of China's trade in May is not a coincidence.
China's experience in combating the pandemic has proved the effectiveness of "dynamic zero-Covid". In the past two years, China has achieved a major victory in the fight against the pandemic in Wuhan, and prevented multiple spreads of the pandemic caused by new variants such as Delta, ensuring the overall stability of China's economy and society. In 2020, China was the only major economy in the world that maintained positive growth. Chinese economy grew by 8% in 2021. At present, the pandemic in Shanghai has been largely contained, and social life is gradually returning to normal.
The "dynamic zero-Covid" policy is based on China's conditions. Omicron is much more infectious than ordinary influenza viruses and is more likely to cause breakthrough infections, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly, resulting in higher rates of severe illness and mortality. According to statistics, the current infection rate of Covid-19 is 29% in Europe and 24% in the United States, compared to merely 0.1% in China. The number of deaths from Covid-19 in the United States has exceeded one million because it chose to "lie flat". Consequently, hundreds of thousands of children have become orphans. There are 267 million people in China aged 60 and above. With Omicron’s higher capability of causing breakthrough infections, millions of lives will be lost and medical resources will be strained if China abandons the "dynamic zero-Covid" policy, which will severely disrupt the social order and mental states of people and eventually resulting in disastrous outcome. Always taking people’s interests and lives as top priority, the Chinese government will not sit idle to allow such disasters to occur.
The "dynamic zero-Covid" policy is also implemented based on solid scientific proof. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the potential risk of continuous viral mutation remains unknown. Experience has shown that viral mutation is likely to occur in an environment where the pandemic has been out of control for a long time. The objective of "dynamic zero-Covid" policy is to control the rebound of the pandemic in a short period of time without giving the virus an opportunity to mutate. The essence of this policy is "fast", which features instant detection and handling. Faster speed allows human beings to seize the initiative in the battle against the virus. If the "dynamic zero-Covid" policy is compromised, the best timing to contain the pandemic will be wasted, leading to greater costs afterward.
There is a saying in China that "it’s better to have a little loss than a long sorrow ". "Dynamic zero-Covid" is not about zero infection, but to prevent the spread of virus to a wider area within the shortest time frame at the lowest cost, thus ensuring the sustainable development of the national economy and the world economy in the long run. Therefore, this pandemic control and prevention policy, which aims to protect people's lives and health to the greatest extent, and minimize the impact on economic and social development has been widely supported by the Chinese people. Many people have volunteered to support with the policy implementation.
UAE has developed a successful model suitable for itself to combat Covid-19 pandemic, effectively achieving a balance between pandemic control and economic development, and creating a safe environment and conditions for economic activities while strictly adhering to control and prevention measures. The successful experiences of China and UAE in fighting the pandemic has set examples for the rest of the world.
Link to the original article (copy the link in the browser to read):
https://www.albayan.ae/opinions/2022-06-23-1.4462089