Some Western critics never tire of their efforts to smear China

The first batch of Chinese-donated COVID-19 vaccine doses are unloaded from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe on Feb 15, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

When China introduced strict COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control policies three years ago, Western critics called the lockdowns imposed on Wuhan and elsewhere an inhuman medieval practice.

Yet when Western countries were forced to implement their own lockdowns to prevent their own health systems from being overwhelmed, they praised as the moves as resolute measures to protect people from the virus.

Now that the virus is displaying weakened pathogenicity and most of China's population is vaccinated, the country has taken the initiative to lift its strict virus control measures. But to these Western critics this is not of its own volition. Rather, it is because the country has had to surrender to the virus. They claim it proves that the country's dynamic clearing policy has been a failure. Of course, when their own countries reopened, it was portrayed as a calculated decision to acquire herd immunity.

Having found it impossible to explain the discrepancy between large number of deaths attributable to the virus in their own countries and the relatively low number in China, they are predicting a tsunami of COVID deaths in China now that, according to them, the country has been "forced" to "abruptly" end its former pandemic control policies.

While the Chinese economy has maintained sizable growth, and demonstrated its resilience and potential even at the most difficult time, these critics clamor that the world's second-largest economy is collapsing.

When China selflessly provides vaccines, essential medical care supplies and life necessities to the rest of the world, they claim the vaccines and medical items do not work, and China is making a fortune out of other's misfortune.

Even though China remains a reliable trade partner and a driver of the global economy as a manufacturing center, logistics hub and key link in the global industry and supply chains, these critics spread alarmist fear that China's COVID policies are threatening the stability of world trade and foreign companies are losing confidence in it.

Calling black white, they turn a blind eye to which countries are trying to collude with each other to weaponize trade, investment and technology to hijack the world economy for their own narrow ends.

They also choose to ignore the gap in medical care resources between China and their own countries, as well as China's development stage and the size of its population, taking every opportunity to hype up any medical supply shortage after the adjustment of the COVID-19 policies as fault or failure of the Chinese government. Something none of their own countries proved to be able to do even with their more developed medical care conditions and much smaller populations.

The question is for how long will these critics persist with their dog-and-pony shows of bias and prejudice.