China practices not only the rule of law but also the rule of virtue, said Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang in a keynote speech during a forum organized by the U.S.-Asia Institute on Wednesday. 

He made the remarks after sharing several buzzwords in China to tell the story of what is going on in China, what the Chinese people are thinking about and what they are doing. 

These buzzwords include "people first" and "heroes in harm's way," which are closely related to China's fight against COVID-19. 

"Over 2,000 years ago, Confucius raised the idea that people are the foundation of a country. When COVID-19 hit China, we mobilized resources nationwide and launched an epic campaign to fight it. The whole country was united as one, with no place left behind and no life given up," Qin said, explaining the connotation of "people first." 

Saying "heroes in harm's way," which refers to the everyday heroes who put their mission before their lives and made fearless sacrifices to fight the pandemic, he hailed the medical professionals, military personnel and firefighters who rose to the challenge on the front line and raced against time to save lives. 

The ambassador also mentioned some buzzwords popular among the Chinese young people, such as "lie flat," which describes the youngsters who give up ambitions and do the bare minimum to get by and "involution," which means irrational or involuntary competition. 

These buzzwords reflect the changing and unchanging elements in Chinese people's values when China experiences rapid economic growth and profound social transformation, Qin said, adding that socialism with Chinese characteristics requires both material progress and cultural-ethical advancement. 

"We need to keep fine traditional values, uphold fairness and justice and not get lost in a market economy," he said. 

Further explaining what China's traditional virtue is, he stressed that it means a concern for the common good of humanity and said it is unacceptable if capital is allowed to seek profit and monopoly at the expense of public interests.