Xinhua Commentary: Putting people first is the principle of China's anti-pandemic strategy

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Some U.S. media have recently conspired to attack China's anti-pandemic strategy, claiming that China's approach to tackling the virus will lead to its long-term isolation from the world.

These groundless claims deliberately distort the truth and ignore the essence of China's anti-pandemic fight.

Since the onset of the pandemic, China, insisting that the rights to subsistence and development are primary basic human rights, has regarded protecting people and their lives as its top priority. That is the principle of the country's anti-pandemic strategy.

On that basis, the Chinese government has scientifically coordinated its pandemic prevention and economic and social development. As a result, China has taken the lead in resuming work and production, becoming the only major economy that registered positive growth in 2020.

This year, China's economic growth continues to lead the world, with foreign trade maintaining upward momentum. By July, China's imports and exports had registered positive year-on-year growth for the 14th consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the Chinese anti-pandemic strategy provides a strong guarantee for sustained economic recovery. Instead of being isolated, China will certainly be more closely linked to the world in the future. Many multinational companies have continued to achieve remarkable results in the Chinese market and already reiterated their confidence in China.

Such hard-won achievements are a testament to the extraordinary leadership of the Communist Party of China and the advantages of China's system. The Chinese people will never forget that in the face of the sudden outbreak of the pandemic, the country has been putting their lives and health front and center. Countless heroes have made sacrifices and contributed to the mission of protecting people's lives.

The facts stand as a living proof of China's scientific and effective strategy in containing the virus.

In sharp contrast, the United States, with the best medical resources, ranks first in the world in both confirmed cases and deaths. Disregarding the problems of their own country, certain U.S. media are raising ill-founded questions about China's strategy, revealing a combination of arrogance and envy on their part.

In fact, the U.S. failure is an inevitable result of the inherent flaws of the country's political system and values. The politicians' understatement of the virus' risks, the breakdown of prevention mechanisms amid partisan struggle, racial discrimination and the wealth gap all play a role in making the United States the world's worst failure when it comes to containing the pandemic.

Worst of all, instead of putting people's lives first, some U.S. politicians have chosen to put money first. In public, they advocate protecting human rights, but in real actions, they are in fact protecting the interests of the rich and those with power.

Maybe, those U.S. media should dig into the root cause of the U.S. debacle in containing the pandemic and expose the underlying hypocrisy and double standards. That would be the right thing to do.