Xi chairs leadership meeting on regular epidemic response, industrial and supply chains

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Thursday chaired a leadership meeting on the effective implementation of regular epidemic prevention and control measures.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about work and production resumption during a research tour in a stainless steel manufacturer in Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, May 12, 2020. Xi inspected Taiyuan on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee also studied measures to boost the stability and competitiveness of industrial and supply chains.

Noting the complex COVID-19 situation overseas and the arduous task of preventing domestic rebounds, Xi demanded unremitting efforts to forestall imported infections and domestic resurgence by ensuring that the prevention and control measures are implemented down to every detail.

"We must never allow our hard-earned previous achievements on epidemic control to be made in vain," Xi stressed. "We must ensure the victory in the battle against extreme poverty and the completion of the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects."

Xi stressed intensifying containment measures in key regions and places to forestall resurgence of infections, urging targeted prevention and control measures in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces where cluster infections were reported, and improved community containment efforts in Hubei Province and Wuhan City.

Xi also demanded Beijing strengthen its epidemic control during the upcoming annual sessions of China's national legislature and political advisory body.

All localities should draw lessons from the recent cluster infections, overhaul loopholes in their respective prevention and control work to guard against epidemic rebound, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

More flexible and effective measures should be taken in response to the new trend of overseas epidemic situation, the statement said, urging efforts to shore up the weak links in the prevention of imported cases.

Workers work at a workshop of a new material company in Qingshan District of Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 16, 2020. All the industrial enterprises above designated size in Qingshan District have resumed production. [Photo/Xinhua]

The meeting stressed further deepening the supply-side structural reform and leveraging the advantages of China's super-large market and domestic demand potential to create a new development pattern where domestic and foreign market can boost each other.

Efforts should be made to re-establish the foundations of industries, upgrade industrial chains and beef up scientific and technological innovations, according to the meeting.

On the premise of implementing regular epidemic prevention and control measures, China should promote the coordinated business resumption focusing on major industrial chains, leading enterprises and key investment projects.

The meeting also urged efforts to facilitate various shopping malls, markets and life service sectors to return to normal operations and strengthen international cooperation to ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains.