Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Wednesday chaired a leadership meeting to study the major tasks in preventing and controlling the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and stabilizing economic and social development.

Xi made an important speech at Wednesday's meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

After the whole country's arduous efforts, a positive trend has emerged as the epidemic prevention and control situation has seen steady improvement and the resumption of the order of work and life has been accelerating, Xi said.

He called for speeding up the establishment of an economic and social order compatible with the epidemic prevention and control, urging efforts to consolidate and expand the hard-won positive trend, bring the country's economic and social development back to the normal track at an early date, and create conditions for securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eradicating poverty.

Xi stressed a clear understanding of the complexity of the current situation for epidemic prevention and control, as well as the economic and social development.

While the task of containing the epidemic remains arduous and onerous in the outbreak epicenter Hubei Province and its capital city Wuhan, the risk of an outbreak is rising in other regions as more people move around and crowds gather, Xi said, demanding no relaxation in the epidemic response preparedness.

Noting that China should play its part as a major and responsible country, Xi required more international cooperation on epidemic prevention and control.

Xi demanded targeted and solid measures to push for work resumption to minimize the loss caused by the outbreak.

Party committees and governments at all levels should implement the policies and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee, Xi said, calling for seeking truth from facts, and resolutely guarding against the practice of formalities for formalities' sake and bureaucratism.

According to the meeting, continued and solid efforts are needed in strengthening the prevention and control in Hubei and Wuhan, especially at the community level. All COVID-19 patients in severe conditions should be treated at high-level designated hospitals.

The meeting also highlighted epidemic prevention and control in Beijing and other key regions.

It stressed the importance of intensifying epidemic-related scientific research, with strengths concentrated on tackling the most pressing issues.

Differentiated approaches should be adopted to help work and production resume in regions based on their epidemic situations. The production and supply of essential epidemic control materials should be substantially increased and distribution of protective gear be improved to ensure employees work and live in safe and healthy environment.

The meeting underscored unleashing consumption that had been suppressed by the outbreak and stressed the need to strengthen new and upgraded consumption to compensate the lost consumption on goods and services during the outbreak.

It also stressed stabilizing foreign trade and investment, assisting businesses, stabilizing employment, creating more jobs, helping college graduates and migrant workers find work, and solving difficulties for small household businesses.

In the meantime, agricultural production and stable prices of farm produce should be guaranteed. Greater efforts should be made to help poverty-ridden areas and the people, especially migrant workers from impoverished regions, to ensure the goal of poverty eradication is met on time, according to the meeting.

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