BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Thursday urged swift containment of the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Xi made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to analyze the COVID-19 epidemic situation.
Since the COVID-19 response measures were enforced on a regular basis, China has effectively responded to regional cluster infections and provided the best protection for people's lives and health as it can, Xi said.
The country's economic performance and COVID-19 response, which both led the world, fully demonstrated its strength and capacity in epidemic prevention and control. It also showed the advantages of the CPC's leadership and the socialist system, he noted.
"Victory comes from perseverance," Xi said. He asked all departments and regions to prepare for complexity and difficulty in COVID-19 response at home and abroad.
The people should always come first, said Xi. He stressed science-based and accurate measures and the adherence to the dynamic zero-COVID policy to curb the spread of the epidemic soonest.
He called for further scientific and technological innovation in research and development of vaccines, rapid testing reagents, and medicines to make the prevention and control more targeted.
More effective measures should be taken to achieve maximum effect in prevention and control with minimum cost, and to reduce the epidemic's impact on socioeconomic development as much as possible, said Xi. ■
