Foreigners reflect on Party's success over past century

Serving the people

In Red Star Over China, Snow detailed how and why the CPC won strong support and trust from farmers, indicating the close bonds between the Party and the people.

Meanwhile, in an article for US media, Epstein wrote that the Eighth Route Army, which was led by the CPC, maintained close ties with the people and never took a needle or a thread from the masses.

Snow once described northern Shaanxi as one of the poorest places in China. It has now shaken off absolute poverty along with other areas thanks to the Party's targeted poverty reduction policy. China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty since reform and opening-up began in the late 1970s.

David Osborn, an Australian sheep breeding expert, has been taking part in China's anti-poverty drive. In recent years, he has visited Huanxian county, Gansu province, several times to promote breeding technologies that can help raise the incomes of villagers, many of whom were in poverty for generations.

"The thought that the CPC has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty is just extraordinary. It is one of the world's great achievements," he said, praising Party members' readiness to help and the CPC's strong executive capability.

By the end of last year, all remaining poverty-stricken counties had shaken off that label.

Hans Muller's son, Dehua Muller, said in Beijing: "The Communist Party of China leads the people, and its members are at the forefront. Nothing is impossible."

Yahia Mustafa, from Sudan, contributed to the Arabic translation of Xi Jinping's report to the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017, noting that key concepts in the report－from "a moderately prosperous society" to "a community with a shared future for humanity"-all involved putting public interests above everything else.

"The distinctive feature of the CPC is that it puts people first and always cares for and serves the people," said Mustafa, who has lived in China for more than 20 years.

The Party's people-oriented philosophy is also evidenced by the nationwide mobilization to contain COVID-19 last year. The CPC asked its members to take the lead by performing the most arduous and dangerous jobs in the battle against the virus.

Jean Christian Nzengue, from Gabon, last year joined a team screening fever patients and offering consultations at a community in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, where he worked closely with many CPC members.

The cardiac specialist said, "It was dangerous, but the Party members did not complain because they love their country and want to protect its people."

According to a white paper issued in June last year, more than 39 million CPC members and cadres fought COVID-19 on the frontline, and nearly 400 died in the process.

Mustafa said China's anti-epidemic fight has clearly taken the solidarity and trust between the people, the Party and the government to a level rarely seen in other parts of the world.

The Party's dedication to the people has boosted public support for the government. A report from Harvard University, based on its 13-year survey in China, showed that the people's overall satisfaction with the central government exceeded 93 percent.