China passed 'extraordinary & historic' COVID test, claims Jinping amid global criticism

China’s President Xi Jinping on September 8 reportedly claimed that his country has passed ‘an extraordinary and historic test’ with its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. While speaking at a ceremony honouring role models during country’s fight against the virus, Xi praised the country for a ‘heroic struggle’ against the disease and awarded gold medals to four ‘heroes’ from the medical field in front of hundreds of applauding delegates. Xi reportedly said that China quickly achieved initial success in the people’s war against coronavirus. He added that the country is also leading the world in economic recovery in the fight against COVID-19. 

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As per reports, Tuesday’s ceremony, decorated with bugle calls and applause, in the Great Hall of the People began with a minute’s silence for those who lost their lives during the outbreak. The Chinese President awarded four people, including 83-year-old Zhong Nanshan, who is the country’s most famous medical expert and who emerged as the face of China’s fight against the contagion. Three others, including biochemical expert Chen Wei, head of a hospital in Wuhan and 72-year-old expert in traditional Chinese medicine, were also given the honorary title of ‘The People’s Hero’. 

At the same event, Xi said that Beijing acted in an open and transparent manner on the pandemic. He said that China had taken concrete efforts that helped save ten millions of lives around the globe during the pandemic. He went on to hail his country’s efforts and added that China is the first major economy to return to growth, a fact he said demonstrates the country’s strong abilities and viability. 

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China criticised over COVID-19 

Meanwhile, countries, including the US and Australia, have repeatedly pushed for declaring Beijing the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. While Australia led the charge to launch an international, independent inquiry into the origins of the unprecedented coronavirus, the United States, on the other hand, has claimed that COVID-19 is a 'man-made' disease and it emerged at a virology laboratory in Wuhan. The Communist nation continues to face global scrutiny over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and China's role in keeping it hidden during its early stages. There have been endless suspicions on whether China even released the official figures of the virus, with experts rubbishing its 'official' numbers.

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