Facing unprecedented challenges brought by COVID-19 and the complex changes in external environment, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has led China to achieve substantial progress in 2020.

Upholding the authority of the CPC, putting people first and giving full play to institutional advantages are the key factors driving China's success in its epic battle against COVID-19 pandemic and poverty last year.

'People first'

Under Xi's command, the constant theme of China's war against coronavirus has been "people first."

"The people's safety and health always come first, and thus the prevention and control of the outbreak is the country's most important work for now," said Xi on his meeting with visiting World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last January.

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Stressing CPC is the most reliable backbone for Chinese people in times of trouble, Xi ordered the use of the entire country's resources to tackle the pandemic, which is also an advantage of China's socialist system.

As a result, China has emerged among the first countries to contain the virus, reopen the economy safely, and restore economic growth. The country's GDP is expected to exceed 100 trillion yuan (about $15.38 trillion) in 2020, with per capita GDP reaching $10,000.

Meanwhile, China has sent 36 medical expert teams to 34 countries and offered help for 150 countries and 10 international organizations to fight the virus, echoing President Xi's call for building a community of common health for mankind.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be made a global public good, which will be China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, Xi announced in May at the opening of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly.

'No one should be left behind'

On November 23, as southwest China's Guizhou Province cleared all the names on its poverty list, China had eradicated absolute poverty and regional poverty.

At a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation in March, Xi said lifting all rural residents living below the poverty line out of poverty by 2020 is a solemn promise made by the CPC Central Committee and it must be fulfilled on time.

Xi put poverty relief center in front of his governance and spent the most energy on it. During his domestic inspections last year, Xi often went to the frontline to supervise poverty relief efforts.

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"No one should be left behind on the road of socialism," Xi said in May. "Everyone should be on the path toward a moderately prosperous society in all respects and common prosperity."