Editor's note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point."

In the 1950s, the newly established People's Republic of China launched a large-scale industrialization program, in which the socio-economic development of the country's western regions was to play a crucial part. To supply the western regions with the necessary talent, the central government decided to relocate Jiaotong University from the affluent metropolis of Shanghai in east China to the resource-strapped northwestern city of Xi'an. More than 1,400 faculty members and nearly 3,000 students volunteered to join the program and made Xi'an their new home.

For more than 60 years, the people of Jiaotong University have made remarkable contributions to the development of the nation. Their efforts were acknowledged by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent visit to the university: "We must carry on with the dedication of the veteran professors… It is through hardships and challenges that our nation learned to survive and thrive."

The Westward Relocation Spirit was based on a sense of patriotism and an eagerness to contribute – the source of energy that has powered China's leapfrog progress in the past decades.

China has been aiming to eradicate absolute poverty in 2020. But the unexpected spell of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious challenges to the poverty-reduction efforts as well as the country's overall socio-economic development.

The fight against COVID-19 and the mission to eradicate poverty are both daunting tasks, but thankfully, the Chinese people are facing them with the same kind of dedication as behind the Westward Relocation Project. After the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of Wuhan residents observed voluntary self-isolation amid a citywide lockdown and more than 42,000 medical personnel have risked their own safety to come to Wuhan's aid. 

In fewer than three months, China has brought the epidemic under control and is now taking the lead in restoring normal economic and daily activities. This is living proof of our people's dedication, sprung from a sense of patriotism and an eagerness to contribute.

In China, countless people are dedicated to the nation's development. If you understand their stories, you will see why it has been possible for the country to lift more than 800 million people out of poverty in little more than 70 years, and why Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visit in Shaanxi Province, expressed confidence that China will achieve its poverty-eradication targets on schedule in 2020.

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