Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders applauded the Chinese government’s anti-poverty programs in an answer to a question about tensions between the country and the United States during an interview aired Tuesday.

“They’re a country that vigorously protects their own interests,” the Vermont senator said in an interview with The Hill. “But what we have to say about China, in fairness to China and its leadership, is if I’m not mistaken, they have made more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization, okay? So they’ve done a lot of things for their people.”