BRI assistance projects helping in poverty fight
Members of a Chinese rescue team are seen before departing for Türkiye at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2023.
China has arranged over 2,000 assistance projects in more than 120 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participating countries over the past decade, said a senior Chinese official on October 31, 2023, who vowed to continue developing BRI cooperation.
Luo Zhaohui, head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), told a news briefing that Beijing has set up more than 80 economic and trade cooperation zones, mobilized nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars in investment, offered training to more than 100,000 people in various fields, and helped lift 40 million people out of poverty.
According to Luo, the project and funding pools of the Global Development Initiative have been running smoothly, and more than 200 small-yet-smart projects have been implemented.
Those effective and beneficial projects, including "juncao" (mushrooms and grass) technology, hybrid rice, TV satellites for villages, and the Brightness Action programs, have been implemented in Africa, South Pacific island countries and Asia and have improved livelihoods of local people, Luo said.
The agency focused on expanding multilateral cooperation with more than 20 international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme, in areas like poverty reduction, food security and public health, he said. Over 130 projects were implemented in more than 60 countries, benefiting more than 30 million people.
"The more China develops, the greater international responsibilities it shoulders; meanwhile, it faces higher expectations from developing countries," Luo said.
He stressed that China's international development cooperation and foreign aid are mutual assistance among friends, which is "both altruistic and mutually beneficial."
"We have reaped the deep friendship of the vast number of developing countries and their peoples," he said.
Humanitarian assistance is another highlight of China's foreign aid, according to Luo. Over the past 10 years, China has provided emergency assistance to over 70 countries for more than 1,000 times.
In response to the recent Palestine-Israel conflict, China has provided 1 million U.S. dollars of emergency humanitarian assistance in cash, respectively, to the Palestinian government and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
China will also provide 15 million yuan (2.05 million U.S. dollars) of emergency humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip through Egypt, in order to help ease the humanitarian situation, said Zhong Haidong, deputy head of the CIDCA.
Since the beginning of this year, China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to Türkiye, Syria, Libya, Morocco, Afghanistan and other countries hit by earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.
The assistance has effectively alleviated the humanitarian crisis in those countries and supported the resettlement of those affected, the resumption of production, and local reconstruction, Zhong said.
China's emergency humanitarian assistance not only demonstrates the country's responsibility as a major country but also injects stability and positive energy into today's world fraught with uncertainties, he said.
China sees continuous improvement in health service capacity
Medical workers of a local maternity and children hospital conduct tuberculosis screening tests at a high school in Cengong County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 11, 2023.
The health service capacity of medical institutions in China has seen significant improvement in 2023, Chinese health officials said on November 1, 2023.
From January to September, medical institutions in China saw a total of 5.11 billion medical visits, statistics from China's National Health Commission (NHC) showed. The commission also recorded 220 million hospital discharges of recovered patients in that period.
According to Lei Haichao, deputy director of the NHC, the statistics indicate that the people's demand for health services has been effectively met, and these services were delivered with greater efficiency.
Basic public health services provided at the primary level have been bolstered as well. NHC official Wang Bin said that in the first half of 2023, nearly 90 million people aged 65 and above enjoyed health management through such services, increasing 40% compared with the same period last year.
Health authorities and medical institutions have also made proactive efforts to ensure the accessibility and equitability of health services. Currently, 82.7% of all medical institutions at or above the secondary level in the country have established a system that enables patients to schedule appointments for diagnosis and treatment, Lei said.
China has a three-tier system to grade hospitals, with tertiary hospitals — which have the largest number of beds and provide comprehensive medical services — at the top of the system.