China's COVID response policies are science-based, effective: FM

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's COVID response policies are science-based, effective and consistent with China's national realities, and can stand the test of history, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In response to a relevant query, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing that it was exactly because of its dynamic zero-COVID policy that China was able to dodge the havoc of the more deadly Delta variant and other variants, reducing its rates of severe cases and mortality, and protecting people's lives and health to the greatest extent possible.

He noted that it was the dynamic zero-COVID policy that bought China precious time to vaccinate more people and become the first major economy in the world to register positive economic growth in 2020.

China's average annual economic growth rate over the past three years was approximately 4.5 percent, higher than the global average and making important contributions to global economic growth, he said.

In the thick of the global fight against COVID, China served as an important provider of supplies, offering strong support for other countries' pandemic responses and playing an irreplaceable role in maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains, he added.

"Guided by a people-first and life-first philosophy, we have continued refining our COVID response based on science to make it more targeted. Any political manipulation of this is futile, given what China's COVID response has accomplished," Wang said.

The spokesperson noted that at present, China's COVID situation is improving and some provinces and cities have already passed their infection peaks, and life and work are returning to normal at an accelerated pace.

"With demand picking up and new policies beginning to work, China will unleash more economic vitality and opportunities for the world, and it will be in a better position to stabilize and boost the global economy," he said.