Chinese Prez Xi Jinping Stresses On Strong Public Health System

President Xi Jinping called for efforts to develop a strong public health system to safeguard people's health.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when presiding over a symposium attended by experts and scholars.

Noting that the people's security is the cornerstone of national security, Xi called for readiness for worst-case scenarios, stronger awareness of potential dangers and constant efforts to forestall major risks in health care.

"Only by developing a strong public health system, improving the early warning and response mechanisms, comprehensively enhancing the capacity for prevention, control and treatment, weaving a tight prevention and control network, and consolidating the wall of quarantine, can we provide a strong guarantee for safeguarding the people's health," Xi said.

Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Huning, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, who are both members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium.

Experts and scholars, including academicians with the Chinese Academy of Engineering such as Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory professor at Guangzhou Medical University, and Zhang Boli, head of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, spoke and put forward suggestions at the symposium.

Xi exchanged views with experts and scholars who spoke at the symposium.

When delivering a very important speech, Xi noted that the CPC Central Committee, in the face of the unexpected COVID-19 epidemic, took the overall situation into account, made resolute decisions, and insisted on putting people's lives and health first.

Thanks to the concerted, all-out efforts made by the Chinese people, as well as the most strict, comprehensive and thorough measures for epidemic prevention and control, China has made major strategic achievements in the battle against COVID-19, Xi said.