Recovery from effects of COVID-19 key as country faces external challenges

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said on Wednesday that after arduous efforts, China has secured a decisive outcome in containing the spread of COVID-19 in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, the country's hardest-hit region.

With strong leadership by the CPC Central Committee and support from all, as well as the participation of the people in Hubei and Wuhan, China has secured hard-won outcomes with major strategic significance in the people's war on the novel coronavirus outbreak as the pandemic still rages globally, Xi said when presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

His remarks came with no new confirmed infections having been reported for 25 consecutive days in Hubei as of Tuesday. The last 12 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals in Wuhan on Sunday.

The CPC Central Committee also identified a package of fiscal, taxation, financial, credit, investment and foreign trade policies to support economic and social development in Hubei given the difficulties it faces after its sacrifices in combating the virus, according to a statement released after the meeting.

As COVID-19 is still spreading abroad, China faces growing pressure from imported infections and increasing complexity in preventing domestic relapses, Xi said, urging consistent attention to epidemic control.

He asked all regions and departments to make unremitting efforts in virus prevention and control so as to provide effective safeguards for getting the economy and society back to normal and securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Xi stressed efforts in the epidemic control work in key areas and for key groups, requiring Heilongjiang province to improve anti-epidemic measures, especially preventing infections in hospitals and making all-out efforts to treat patients.

Authorities in Hubei and Wuhan should continue to strengthen community-based prevention, improve contingency plans and provide more care and help for recovered patients, he said. Beijing should continue to perform its key anti-epidemic tasks.

With the May Day holiday approaching, Xi said local authorities should guarantee ventilation and disinfection in transportation venues and stations, and enhance epidemic prevention at scenic attractions.

The reopening of schools and resumption of classes should be advanced in an orderly manner, and schools are responsible for ensuring the physical and mental health of their faculty and students, he said.

In order to accelerate the resumption of work and life in Hubei, the meeting stressed that local Party committees and governments should focus on ensuring the employment and basic livelihood of residents, helping resolve their practical difficulties, such as finding jobs and going to school, and meeting the basic needs of people with special difficulties.

Hubei authorities should also help solve difficulties small and medium-sized enterprises face, promote pillar industries, such as automobile manufacturing and electronics, to resume development and speed up the construction of traditional infrastructure as well as new infrastructure, such as 5G and artificial intelligence, it said.

Meeting participants agreed to continue to provide more care for overseas Chinese, deepen international cooperation on containing the contagion, continue to provide help to countries in need within the nation's capacity, strengthen quality supervision on epidemic prevention materials and contribute to international anti-epidemic cooperation.

The meeting also discussed issues such as expanding agricultural production and sales to help increase farmers' incomes and strengthening the building of public health emergency systems.