BEIJING, May 8 -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday presided over a symposium to hear comments and suggestions from non-CPC members on COVID-19 prevention and control.
Xi delivered a speech at the symposium, which was held by the CPC Central Committee and attended by members of the central committees of non-CPC parties in China, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and persons without party affiliation.
Through arduous efforts, decisive results have been secured in the battle to protect the hard-hit Hubei Province and its capital city Wuhan, Xi said, noting that major strategic achievements have been made in stemming the spread of the virus, with positive results in coordinating the epidemic control and economic and social development.
Xi demanded no relaxation in epidemic response and further resumption of production, work and schools to ensure a decisive victory in eradicating poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Li Keqiang, Wang Yang and Wang Huning, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, were present at the symposium. Li gave a briefing on COVID-19 prevention and control work.
Symposium attendees noted the major strategic achievements in the COVID-19 fight under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.
China has put the domestic epidemic under control and the rising trend of imported COVID-19 cases has waned, while the order of work and life has resumed at a faster pace, they said.
This fully demonstrated the political advantage of China's socialist system and showed that China is a major and responsible country, they added.
Delivering the speech, Xi said facing the sudden epidemic outbreak, the CPC Central Committee put people's life and health first and acted with resolute measures.
China had basically curbed the spread of the virus in over one month, managed to bring the daily number of new domestically-transmitted cases down to single digits in about two months, and secured decisive achievements in protecting Wuhan and Hubei in about three months, Xi noted.
"For a huge country with 1.4 billion people, these are hard-won achievements," he said.
At the critical moment of fighting COVID-19, non-CPC members have unswervingly stood with the CPC, Xi said. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and said the comments and suggestions offered by the non-CPC members at the symposium will be earnestly studied.
Xi said during the COVID-19 fight, China upheld the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC and concentrated the nation's best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to treat patients, with all treatment expenses covered by the state. It managed to maximize the testing and cure rates while minimizing the infection and fatality rates.
Xi emphasized mobilizing the whole society, leveraging the institutional strength of concentrating resources to get things done and tapping the composite national strength as well as closely relying on science and technology.
He said China used less than a week to identify the full genome sequence of the novel coronavirus and isolate the virus strain, produced various testing kits and swiftly selected a number of effective drugs and treatments. Different types of vaccines have also entered clinical trials.
Patriotism, collectivism and socialism were promoted during the COVID-19 fight, a large number of role models emerged and the sense of national unity was enhanced, he said.
On international cooperation, Xi said China has helped countries and international organizations to the best of its ability, demonstrating the nation's sense of responsibility as a major and responsible country.
The COVID-19 fight has once again shown that the CPC leadership, China's socialist system and its governance system can overcome any challenge and make big contributions to the progress of human civilization.
Xi also stressed fixing the shortcomings in the country's major epidemic prevention and control mechanism and the national public health system to raise the ability to deal with major public health emergencies.
He urged targeted and effective measures to guard against the importation of cases and prevent a resurgence of the epidemic.
Xi urged non-CPC members to unswervingly stick to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, continue to play their role in containing the epidemic and promoting development, and help create a good atmosphere for public opinion.