Editor's note: Christopher Helali is the international secretary of the Party of Communists USA and a PhD candidate in philosophy and China Government Scholar for Sino-U.S. Cultural Communication at Tongji University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In early December, China's National Health Commission (NHC) eased COVID-19 restrictions nationwide. This followed an earlier decision by the Chinese government in November to roll back its more severe restrictions that led to lockdowns in cities across the country, as part of China's dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Ending it was not done arbitrarily, while understanding the latest data and science regarding the less severe Omicron strain, the ongoing vaccination campaign, as well as more widely available treatments. But this is not what the Western media is portraying.  

Over the past few years, the Western media has bombarded the public with accusations about the "authoritarian," "autocratic," "undemocratic," and "draconian" zero-COVID policies of the Chinese government while deaths mounted higher in the United States and Europe.

Concern over supply chains due to lockdowns in China dominated the airwaves as commentators lamented the economic conditions in the West. Now that China has lifted COVID-19 restrictions, many Western reporters are saying that China has abandoned its people and condemned them to die in massive numbers.

Nevertheless, the Chinese government has worked tirelessly to contain COVID-19, first in Wuhan, and throughout the country, while the United States could not contain the spread of the virus, which led to over one million deaths.

The Western media coverage has undergone numerous iterations over the past three years. At first, the emergence of COVID-19 led to a wave of anti-China and anti-Asian hate in the West, with the Chinese and other Asians getting attacked and their businesses vandalized. The hatred coincided with negative media portrayals of China and the Chinese.

Videos showing ordinary people shopping at wet markets in Chinese cities and towns were used to mock how Chinese people eat. The scenes were interpreted as the alleged "smoking gun" claiming that COVID-19 was a zoonotic virus.

Yet, simultaneously the Western media followed up with accusations that COVID-19 was a "Chinese bioweapon" that was either accidentally or deliberately leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump heightened tensions by calling COVID-19 "kung flu," a move many in the liberal media condemned as racist. Yet, for all the condemning of "kung flu," the same media establishments trafficked anti-China propaganda related not only to China's internal response to COVID-19, but to other internal affairs.

China's COVID-19 policies over the past three years have been an amazing success story, placing the needs of the people above the needs of corporate profit and greed. The worsening economic conditions in the West led many to blame the Chinese government for its response.

Yet, the Chinese government balanced the needs of COVID-19 containment with economic growth and development. What good is it if millions are infected without the proper infrastructure or capabilities to deal with it? Why should so many millions of people be condemned to death when something can be done to prevent it?

The formerly "unsustainable" COVID-19 restrictions and policies, now lifted, have led to a surge of cases. On the other hand, life is returning to many parts of the country. Urban centers are seeing renewed vitality after three tough years. The health and wellbeing of the people have been the top priority all long.

Now many in the West are shedding crocodile tears for the shifting of China's COVID-19 policies while dismissing the tremendous achievements China has made in controlling the spread of COVID-19, as well as in preparing for the eventual lifting of these restrictions.

The three years have revealed a common theme and narrative in the Western media's coverage of China's COVID-19 response. Anti-China sentiment is the name of the game both in Washington and throughout the newsrooms across the U.S. and the West. This long-held prejudice against China is part of the ongoing confrontation between China and U.S. imperialism.

At stake for the West is the fact that its own disregard for its people, their health and their wellbeing could be challenged by a powerful China that is standing up to defend its people and the nation.

The inconvenient truth is that the United States, not China, is responsible for immiserating the U.S. working class. It is U.S. politicians, not Chinese leaders, who kowtow to corporations, placing the needs of shareholders ahead of the needs of Americans.

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