The science-based decisions of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the concerted efforts of
the Chinese people are what made China achieve such an impressive progress, said Adham Sayed,
member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lebanon, when receiving an
exclusive interview with People’s Daily.
The Lebanese has been studying and working in China since 2015, where he is able to closely
observe the country’s development and changes. To write a book that introduces to the world the
Chinese achievements he witnesses has always been a dream of his.
When the pandemic broke out in 2020, Sayed was studying for his Ph.D. at Huazhong University
of Science and Technology in Wuhan and decided to stay on. He later published a book, titled
“Confidence Comes from Effectiveness: A Foreigner’s Wuhan Diary,” in China and its Arabic
version back in Lebanon.
The book records the stories happening in Wuhan, presents to the world China’s response
measures, and demonstrates the Chinese strength in his eyes.
Sayed believes that China’s practices in the fight against the virus vividly mirrored the
institutional advantages of the country.
“I saw the greatness of the Chinese people amid the pandemic. However, that’s not enough to
explain why China has succeeded,” he told People’s Daily.
“People need strong leadership, and the CPC is exactly providing this strong leadership to the
Chinese people. It always puts people in the first place, and the Chinese government’s science-
based measures are highly responsible for people’s lives and health. Why are the Chinese people
able to unite together to fight the virus for more than two years? It’s because they trust the CPC
and their government,” Sayed said.
Today, Chinese democracy is attracting international attention. Sayed noted that many
international research organizations, including a team at Harvard University, have discovered the
high level of trust of the Chinese people in the CPC and the Chinese government, which is
identical to what he has observed in China.
“Democracy concerns the future of a country and the life of the people. No country has the right to
force a so-called “correct” democratic system on other countries. People would genuinely support
a political system once they are benefiting from it, and that’s what I see in China,” Sayed stressed.
Sayed pays close attention to the concrete practices of the CPC in national governance. He told
People’s Daily that persistence and advancing with the times are what impressed him the most
about the CPC’s governance philosophy.
“The CPC is aware that it must constantly promote
reforms to keep pace with social changes and better answer the questions of China,” he said.
“President Xi Jinping has a profound understanding of the Chinese people’s aspiration for a better
life. The Chinese government attaches high importance on ecological progress, fight against
corruption and common prosperity, which are all powerful responses to the people’s aspiration,”
Sayed said.
He said it’s a huge success going down in history that China had tackled absolute poverty in its
own ways, adding that the country would embark on a new journey to take its people to common
prosperity and lay a more solid foundation for its development in the long run.
Sayed has joined multiple inter-party exchange activities held by the International Department of
the CPC Central Committee, from which he felt strongly that the CPC treats political parties from
across the world equally.
“I felt the respect from the CPC during these activities. We were equal, and we learned from each
other,” Sayed told People’s Daily, adding that members of the CPC have a firm faith and consider
making China great as their life goal.
As changes of the times combine with the once-in-a-century pandemic, the world finds itself in a
new period of turbulence and transformation. Sayed holds that China is playing a more and more
important role in enhancing international governance and promoting multilateral cooperation
under the current situation.
Taking the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an example, he said win-win results are what China
aims at in the international cooperation it advocates, and it’s a future-oriented way of cooperation.
“Countries need to establish win-win relations, rather than resorting to zero sum games, and to
achieve win-win results is exactly an important feature of the BRI cooperation. China always
stresses the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and is
committed to win-win cooperation and common development. That’s what we see today in Africa,
the Middle East and Latin America,” he said.
“The world is going through a very difficult time due to the pandemic and other reasons. The
international society is paying more attention to China and expecting more from it,” Sayed noted.
“This year the 20th National Congress of the CPC will be convened. It will be an important event
not only for the CPC and China, but also for the whole world.”
