“It goes without saying that for her Chinaa huge country with an area as large as the entire Europe and with four times the population, there should be different approaches per region regarding the implementation of measures to prevent and control the pandemic” answers the Chinese ambassador to Greece Xiao Juncheng to APE-MPE regarding the demonstrations and protests on this issue. He points out that the Chinese government attaches particular importance to this issue and calls for science and attention to detail to deal with the serious and outstanding issues projected by the people, making efforts to achieve the best result in the prevention and control of the pandemic at the least possible cost.

The Chinese ambassador explains why China insists on a policy of zero tolerance against the coronavirus pandemic. “Due to the special conditions that prevail in our country, we cannot and should not imitate the epidemic prevention and control measures adopted by some Western countries,” he points out, among other things.

On December 22 new direct direct connection Shanghai – Athens

As far as they are concerned Greek-Chinese relations, the ambassador of China emphasizes that direct air flights between the two countries are operating as normal, while on December 22 Air China will make the new Shanghai-Athens direct direct connection. He also underlines that the Chinese embassy in Greece is willing to maintain close communication with Greek companies and individuals in order to provide them with all possible assistance.

We are already in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today many countries have restrictive measures to control it. Why does China insist on a “dynamic zero tolerance” policy on COVID-19?

“Due to the special conditions prevailing in our country, we cannot and should not imitate the epidemic prevention and control measures adopted by some Western countries. Otherwise you should to shoulder a huge price, namely the millions of human lives that will be lost from the pandemic. For this reason, the Chinese government insists on putting the people and human life as its priority and implementing a two-pronged strategy to both protect against incoming cases and control their spread at home, and following the policy enumeration for a “dynamic zero tolerance” to COVID-19 insists on coordinating epidemic control and prevention with economic and social development. The “dynamic zero tolerance” policy is a scientific epidemic prevention strategy that has been determined based on the conditions in our country. The word “dynamic” does not mean an attempt to completely eradicate cases, while “zero tolerance” refers to avoiding a new and large re-emergence of the epidemic. Adapting to the evolution of the pandemic at the international level and to the mutations of the virus, we have improved the prevention and control policies and measures with the aim of protecting human life and the health security of our people as much as possible, while at the same time ensuring the limitation of the negative impact . of the epidemic in our economic and social development.

Its new variations Omicron they spread quickly and insidiously, often creating outbreaks of infection that dramatically increase the number of cases within a short period of time. In the period 1-22 November, China has a total of 253,000 cases. The total population of our country exceeds 1.4 billion, of which 267 people are people over the age of 60 and 250 million are under the age of 14. The overall available medical resources are insufficient and their distribution within the country is characterized by great inequalities. Under the continuous “rape” of the epidemic and based on scientific data, China will continue the targeted work of prevention and control, improving the corresponding measures. We believe that we can achieve social and economic benefits with little cost, limiting as much as possible the impact of the epidemic on the economic life and daily life of our people. In the past 3 years, the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in mainland China is 5,233, while in the US, which is more developed and has more advanced medical technology, the deaths exceed 1 million.

As reported by the international media, the strict measures to prevent and control the pandemic in China are causing protests and demonstrations in the country. What do you think about this issue?

Currently the pandemic continues to evolve globally. This combined with the emergence of influenza and other seasonal diseases makes scientists and epidemiologists pay special attention to the prevention and control of the epidemic for this winter, some European countries do not announce that their medical care systems are already under great pressure. It goes without saying that for China, a huge country with an area as large as Europe and with four times the population, there are different approaches by region with the implementation of pandemic prevention and control measures. The Chinese government attaches great importance to this issue and calls us with the compass of science and detail to pay attention to the serious and pending issues submitted by the people, making efforts to achieve the result in the prevention and control of the pandemic. the lowest possible cost. China’s Health Commission has issued twenty measures to improve the control of the pandemic, including canceling the process of National Wider Contact Tracing, shortening the quarantine, etc. which reflect our clear scientific orientation in this project. At the same time, it has relaxed the measures in government places such as theaters, libraries and other places, focusing its attention on solving important problems such as the obstruction of transportation due to the measures in various areas, with the aim of ensuring the rapid transportation and delivery of essential materials. All these measures have effectively strengthened the confidence and strength of the Chinese people in the joint fight against the pandemic.

“Dynamic zero tolerance” measures to prevent and control COVID-19 may limit international trade and negatively impact the world. Will there be denials in China’s exchanges and cooperation with Greece?

Simultaneously with the work of epidemic prevention and control, China is making every effort to ensure the smooth flow of exchanges with third countries and strengthen its corresponding actions. This has always been one of the most important goals of the control and prevention project. Recently the Chinese authorities announced 20 policy adjustment measures to deal with the pandemic such as adjusting the quarantine for incoming travelers from 7 days of isolation in a central structure and 3 at home to 5 and 3 days respectively, and conducting one instead of two molecular tests 48 hours before boarding a plane etc. These measures are a strong guarantee for the gradual restoration of exchanges between China and the international community. We believe that the impact of these measures is temporary and limited, and that China will continue to contribute to maintaining the stability and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains. Since the beginning of this year, China has made great efforts to continue Sino-Greek exchanges. The direct air flights of our countries are carried out as normal, while on December 22 Air China will make the new direct direct electronic connection Shanghai – Athens. The visa policy for foreigners visiting our country has been further improved. China’s provinces and cities such as Shanghai and Jiangsu have improved pandemic measures for foreign citizens. The Chinese Embassy in Greece is willing to maintain close communication with Greek companies and individuals to provide them with all possible assistance.

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