China defends zero-COVID policy after WHO chief's comments

The Chinese government has formulated and implemented the dynamic zero-COVID policy based on its national realities and has been adjusting prevention and control protocols according to changing conditions, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The purpose of the policy, according to the spokesman, is solely to protect people's life and health to the greatest extent possible and underpin sustained, sound and steady economic and social development.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks when answering a question regarding comments made by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on China's dynamic zero-COVID policy at a media briefing on Tuesday.

"In China, we have the foundation, the conditions and the capability to achieve dynamic zero-COVID. We have every confidence in winning this hard battle and making greater contributions to the united global response," Zhao told a press conference in Beijing.

China's dynamic zero-COVID policy, he pointed out, is not aimed at realizing zero infection, but rather at bringing COVID-19 under control at the minimum social cost in the shortest time possible so as to effectively protect the health, normal life and production of the 1.4-billion Chinese people to the maximum.

"The Chinese government's COVID-19 policy will stand the test of time. Our science-based prevention and control measures have been proven to be effective," he insisted. "China is one of the countries with the most successful COVID-19 response in the world. This is a fact witnessed by the international community."

Zhao mentioned seeing reports that based on new models by scientists in China and the United States, China risks over 1.5 million COVID deaths if it drops its tough dynamic zero-COVID policy.

"China's dynamic zero-COVID policy has offered effective protection to the elderly and vulnerable groups with underlying health conditions," he noted. "It is distinctly different from the laid-back approaches of herd immunity and natural immunity followed by some countries."