China is fighting battles on two key fronts: saving lives and controlling damage. Both tasks are testing China’s governance system and its leadership’s capability to manage it.

A new strain of coronavirus came with much unknown and turned out more infectious than initially estimated. Health workers and researchers are racing to fill the gaps and share the latest knowledge with the world.

“The epidemic is a devil. We will not let it hide,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The Chinese government is facing up to the hard test in an open, transparent and responsible manner, actively responding to the concerns of all sides and meeting people’s expectations.

The battle in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the worst-hit area in the COVID-19 epidemic, has become the make-or-break part in the entire response. When Hubei cities closed their borders to cut off the virus’ spread, they didn’t come down to a deserted land.

Under the arrangement of the central government, Beijing and Shanghai were designated to aid Wuhan, and 19 provinces dispatched over 20,000 medical workers and tons of emergency supplies to take care of the overwhelmed medical system in other parts of Hubei. 

Continuous adjustments to diagnosis standards, which led to a striking jump in new cases but helped more patients get admitted and get proper treatment, and the change of Hubei officials signaled the central government’s resolve to end the game with more proactive measures.

Thanks to effective isolation and disease control, regions outside Hubei recorded a consistent decline in new infections over the past two weeks. While still on high alert, the less affected areas are focusing on minimizing the impact of the epidemic on the country’s economic health, rolling out remedies to cover business losses and encourage people to resume work.

China’s top leadership is also looking back to examine weaknesses in the governance system and is determined to close the loopholes exposed by the current epidemic. President Xi has called for revising laws and regulations concerning infectious disease prevention and treatment, as well as wildlife protection.

The fight against COVID-19 is a tough challenge to every Chinese citizen and the authority. With resilience and solidarity of people and the government’s solid political resolve, China has full confidence in winning the battle against the virus and withstanding the hard test.