Adhering to the leadership of safeguarding the authority of the Central Committee of the Party and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party over external work are the fundamental guarantee for doing a good job in external work. "Party building is the soul of diplomatic work". To strengthen the Party's centralized and unified leadership over foreign work, we must start from strengthening the Party building on the diplomatic front. The COVID-19 epidemic has swept the world, seriously impacting the order of personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries. Consular diplomacy shows a trend of internal and external attack, multi pronged progress, alternate linkage, and concentrated outbreak. New situations, new problems, and new challenges emerge in endlessly. The necessity and importance of leading the work of party building is becoming increasingly prominent in the consular fight against the epidemic.

　　 From a vantage point

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has taken the overall situation into consideration, coordinated all parties, and made important instructions and instructions many times at the critical moment of epidemic prevention and control. Cui Aimin, Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the unified deployment of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the consular front has effectively improved its political position, strengthened its responsibility, and regarded the implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements and instructions on consular work and epidemic prevention and control as enhancing "four awareness", strengthening "four self-confidence", and achieving "two safeguards" It is an important carrier to learn and understand political theories and put consular work into the overall national work and diplomacy as an important part of improving cadres' political judgment, political understanding and political execution.

Cui Aimin said that we insisted on coordinating the overall situation at home and abroad and the two major issues of security and development, actively engaged in the Hubei and Wuhan defense wars in the early stage of the epidemic, assisted in the recovery of Hubei citizens stranded abroad, and did a good job in the management of foreigners and embassies and consulates in Hubei Province. After the main battlefield of the epidemic turned to foreign countries, the consular front provided targeted assistance to overseas Chinese citizens by issuing "health kits" and "Spring Festival kits" to meet overseas compatriots who were indeed in difficulty, carried out "Spring Seedling Action" and actively practiced the concept of diplomacy for the people. In the face of the rapid spread of the epidemic abroad, we dynamically adjusted the visa policy, took the lead in introducing remote prevention and control measures, adhered to the "import of foreign prevention" unswervingly, and consolidated the hard won major strategic achievements of epidemic prevention and control at home. With the resumption of work and production in China, we will creatively create a "shortcut" for Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges, ensure the orderly exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel, and help build a new development pattern. The strong leadership and correct decisions of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core have pointed out the direction for consular work under the epidemic situation, provided a powerful ideological weapon and a powerful guide to action for consular cadres, helped overseas Chinese compatriots in the consular front, and held the gateway of "foreign defense import" well The coordination of epidemic prevention and control, resumption of work and production and other work has provided a strong political guarantee.

　　 There is a cure for difficult and complicated diseases

Theory is the guide of practice, and thought is the guide of action. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy have provided an important ideological guarantee for the historic achievements of diplomatic and consular work of major countries with Chinese characteristics in the new era and for the continuous creation of new situations.

According to Cui Aimin, the theoretical learning center group of the Consular Department gave full play to its exemplary and leading role, and led the whole department to follow up and learn the important speeches and instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on epidemic prevention work in a timely manner, so as to strengthen theoretical arms. Since the launch of the study and education of the Party history, the consular team has further combined the study and education of the Party history with the comprehensive and systematic study of Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and Xi Jinping's diplomatic thought, with the timely follow-up and study of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, and with the implementation and study of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and instructions on consular work, In the study of the Party history, we will continue to promote the implementation of the Party's and the country's care for overseas citizens, improve the level and quality of consular work for the people, make overall plans for epidemic prevention and control and serve economic and social development, actively build a new order for safe, convenient and efficient exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel, and earnestly learn the Party history, understand the mind, do practical things, and open up new situations.

　　 Cohesion to overcome difficulties

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, under the strong leadership of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all the comrades of the company have carried forward the spirit of party members and cadres who are especially able to bear hardships, fight and contribute, braved hardships, faced difficulties, fought day and night, and carried out the work of foreign consuls and epidemic prevention and control, so that the party flag can fly high in the front line of the fight against the epidemic.

According to Cui Aimin, at the initial stage of the epidemic, the grass-roots party branches broke the pattern of offices, participated in the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Emergency Center for Preventing the Risk of Imported Outbreaks in the form of teams, concentrated on "superior forces" and "hard bones", and ensured the efficient and successful completion of key work. The Consular Department has successively set up the "Interim Party Branch of the Emergency Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Preventing the Risk of Imported Outbound Epidemics" and the "Interim Party Branch of the Foreign Affairs Group Office of the Joint Defense and Control Mechanism of the State Council" to forge a strong force of elite soldiers who can fight at any time. The majority of party members and cadres actively responded to the call, rushed ahead, faced with the emergency task of normalization, insisted on taking the party building as the guide, and through hard work, tempered the cadres' party spirit cultivation and will quality, kept their original intention, took on the mission, bravely shouldered the heavy burden, and contributed to the epidemic related work of the consular front with a full state of mind and a high sense of responsibility.

Reprinted from Economic Daily