BAGHDAD, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people have every right to be proud of their great achievements in all aspects during the country's development, Raed Fahmi, secretary of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, has said.
Ninety-nine years after the founding of the party and nearly 71 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, "China has become the second-largest world economy and managed to achieve incredible growth in the income of Chinese citizens," Fahmi said in an interview with Xinhua.
Since 1921, the CPC has played a pivotal and pioneering role in the Chinese people's struggle for independence and liberation, which gained a great victory in 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded, he said.
"The emergence of the new state came as a result of the dedicated struggle of the communists, their sacrifices and unlimited loyalty to the cause of independence and unity of the country," Fahmi said.
He added that the CPC has combatted corruption on a variety of fronts, and emphasized severe punishment for corrupted officials regardless of "their positions."
As for China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fahmi said that China was very decisive in coping with the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has infected over 10 million people and killed more than 500,000 worldwide.
"China has taken exceptional and rapid measures by mobilizing a great deal of human, financial, technical and scientific resources and managed to achieve an impressive success in curbing the spread of the pandemic," he said.
He attributed the success to "the effectiveness and efficiency of China's health system, developed infrastructure and high-level technologies, in addition to the Chinese people's high commitment to directives and preventive measures."
China's rich experience in battling COVID-19 will help the world fight the pandemic and "the Chinese leaders have frequently announced their willingness to offer their experience and knowledge to the whole world, and expressed their readiness to cooperate and coordinate efforts with other countries and international institutions," Fahmi said.
He added that China has always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and promoted building a community with a shared future for mankind.
"The pillars of China's foreign policy are consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, and provide a sound, solid and stable basis for building a new pattern of relations between countries that guarantee international peace and security," Fahmi said, adding that these pillars have been clearly demonstrated "in its initiatives and calls for international cooperation and peaceful coexistence between countries with different political, economic and social systems."
Though countries are different, they have such common interests as maintaining world peace, preserving the environment and dealing with challenges including combating the COVID-19 pandemic, Fahmi said.
The Belt and Road Initiative and China's assistance to other countries in fighting COVID-19 are examples of its foreign policy, which guarantees the interests and mutual benefits of all countries, and respects their national sovereignty, he added. Enditem
