Criticism of changes to China’s pandemic policies doesn’t fly

China’s implementation of its adjusted protocol for international travel on Sunday has spurred a handful of US politicians and media outlets to misinterpret it in order to smear the country’s effective epidemic prevention and control measures.

The sour grapes they are serving will find few customers, as all reasonable minds will acknowledge that China has made great efforts to adjust its policies, including its quarantine policies for arrivals, in light of the changing pandemic situation.

Be it the tightening of the virus control measures three years ago or the latest optimization, China’s adjustment of its COVID-19 policies has always been made in light of the actual situation both within and outside the country, and under the guiding principle of scientific prudence.

The US critics of China’s policies have also changed their tune in light of the actual situation, calling for the prevention and control measures to be scrapped when they need to be strict, and unyielding now that it is possible to relax them.

They not only turn a jaundiced eye on China’s pandemic measures but a blind eye to their own country’s ineffectual response to the novel coronavirus. With less than 4 percent of the global population, the US accounts for 20 percent of all the deaths due to COVID-19 worldwide, as well as about the same percentage of global infections.

By calling black white and trying to scapegoat China for the pandemic, these critics are just trying to divert attention from the US’ failure to respond to the pandemic effectively. Something these same politicians and media organizations do when it comes to other problems the US faces.

While doing all it can to share key information with the world and providing essential medical supplies and life necessities to other countries, China has taken full advantage of what it has and remained committed to a science-based approach to protect people’s lives and health. This has resulted in the world’s most populous country having one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates among all major countries.

At the same time, while the US has never ceased creating crises, erecting trade and technology barriers, manufacturing and exporting inflation, and trying to consolidate the new Cold War it has sought to start, China has been doing its best to stabilize the global industry and supply chains, promote cooperation and common development, and provide the world with public goods of various kinds.

Those eager to look for flaws in others should address their own first.

Editorial, China Daily