Commentary
BEIJING –When factories temporarily closed in China amid COVID-19 flare-ups, some Western media blamed China for rattling the global supply chain.
However, when Chinese factories resumed operations around the clock, the media diverted its attention to criticize China’s “extreme work culture.”
Behind these nit-picking remarks by the Western media is an entrenched sense of superiority that prevails in some Western countries. Anything that deviates from their understanding of how the world should function is routinely criticized.
Criticizing China for the sake of criticism is by no means constructive.
The unfair accusations are also part of a typical blame game against China. Whenever there is a common challenge for the world to confront, the West habitually passes the buck onto others.
In the face of a pandemic-battered global supply chain and the inability of Western governments to improve the situation, the Western media outlets attempt to scapegoat China.
Whenever Chinese companies swiftly resume production, with a robust rebound that has helped stabilize the global supply chain, the West becomes anxious about a rising China. The media then alters its narrative, claiming that China’s recovery and comparative advantage are built on a grueling work culture.
These capricious and absurd remarks have exposed an ignorance of basic facts and figures.
First of all, China has been a leading stabilizer of the global supply chain for several years, especially during the pandemic. It was among the first countries to bring the pandemic under control, resume work and production and achieve positive economic growth in 2020.
In 2021, China’s GDP increased by 8.1 percent over the previous year, leading major economies in terms of economic growth. Its foreign trade exceeded US$6 trillion for the first time, reaching a new high.
In the first quarter of this year, China’s total imports and exports of goods grew by 10.7 percent year on year. The double-digit growth underscores China’s contribution to stabilizing global supply and industrial chains and promoting the sustained recovery of the world economy.
Meanwhile, by providing vaccines to other countries, China has helped them control the virus to resume work and production, indirectly enhancing global supply chain stability.
In addition, China has played its role as a supply chain stabilizer in a healthy and safe way because the prerequisite for China’s resumption of production is that COVID-19 flare-ups are under control. Production is carried out under strict health protocols in accordance with legal regulations, safeguarding the lives of workers.
In contrast, workers have been pushed back to the production lines in many Western countries despite a rampant pandemic. When wealth comes at the cost of health, call it a grave violation of labor and human rights. – Xinhua
