Xi Jinping chairs a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to analyze the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) situation and strengthen the prevention and control work
On February 12th, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee hosted a meeting and listened to the report by the central leading group on battling the virus to analyze the NCP situation and strengthen the prevention and control work. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered important remarks.
Xi noted that since the outbreak of NCP, we have always placed people’s life security and physical health as top priority, and fully conducted the prevention and control work with firm confidence, concerted efforts, scientific containment and targeted measures. With the unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the central leading group on battling the virus made timely deployment on the contagion, and the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council strengthened the coordination in policy and the dispatch of supplies. The departments at various regions proactively performed their duties and shouldered their responsibilities. Medical workers rushed to the front line of the contagion to make selfless contributions. All ethnic groups jointly face challenges with united strength to fight against the epidemic. Due to concerted hard work, the epidemic situation has shown positive changes, and the prevention and control work has achieved notable outcomes. The results are hard-won progress made by all sides.
Xi Jinping stressed that the epidemic control and prevention are now at their toughest and most critical period, and the country must spare no effort to continue with key tasks against the contagion. Epidemic control efforts in hard-hit and high-risk areas must be further stepped up, and the Party committees and governments at all levels must ensure their work is more concrete, more meticulous and better implemented. Resolute measures are made to win the battle against the contagion and endeavor to meet the year’s targets for social and economic development.
The meeting called for improving the admission and survival rates, and reducing the infection and mortality rates. It is crucial to raise the hospital admission capacity, and increase designated hospitals, beds and isolation sites in the city with a large number of fever patients. It is also required to speed up the detection of suspected cases and admission of patients. The measures of early detection, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment are to be undertaken to strengthen the prevention and control in communities, cut off transmission routes and reduce the infection rate. It is necessary to improve treatment for patients, especially those in severe condition by pooling strengths in medical resources and technology, and to make effective treatment universally available to other hospitals. It also stressed making breakthroughs in scientific research of medicine and vaccine. Hubei province, especially Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak, remains the top priority in the epidemic control and prevention. It is urgent to tackle the shortages of medical resources including beds and medical workers, and to accelerate the renovation and expanding of designated hospitals in order to increase the supply of beds for intensive patients, make the admission and referral unimpeded and carry out all-out treatments for infected patients. It highlighted the implementation of the support of 19 provincial-level regions to different areas of Hubei. Meanwhile, it is vital to step up health monitoring of returning personnel in regions with large population inflows. It is also required to ensure that the public transportation operators have intensified disinfection and ventilation of vehicles and stations.
The meeting underscored efforts to ensure medical supplies. The enterprises producing masks and protective suits are motivated to resume production, and eligible business are encouraged to expand production and address medical shortages in workers, equipment, raw materials and funds. The baldly-needed goods should follow the unified dispatch to guarantee the key areas. Meanwhile, the production and supply of life necessities will be another priority. It is urged to carry out the system of provincial governors assuming responsibility for the “rice bag” (grain supply) and city mayors taking responsibility for the “vegetable basket” (non-grain food supply). Besides, local authorities must ensure the supply of key agricultural production materials such as seeds, fertilizers and animal feed and cement the foundation of agricultural production in preparation for the spring.
The meeting said the non-key regions for epidemic prevention and control should coordinate curbing the epidemic and restoring the economic and social order. It called for a risk-rating system for counties with scientific containment and targeted policies to roll out differential strategies for the prevention and control. The Party committees and governments at various levels should do a better job in the prevention and control of the contagion, and correct wrong and extreme moves so as to reduce the impact of prevention and control measures on people’s life as possible.
The meeting underlined that local authorities must work to minimize the impact of the outbreak and maintain stable economic performance, social harmony and stability so as to meet goals and targets set by the CPC Central Committee, as this year marks the conclusion of China’s efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).
The meeting highlighted the importance of intensifying macro policy regulation and coming up with policy measures to cope with the outbreak’s impacts. It is required to better carry out positive fiscal policies and increase monetary input so as to meet the fund needs of the prevention and control of the contagion. Moreover, it stressed the importance of rolling out more targeted tax cuts and fee reductions to alleviate difficulties faced by businesses, and of making prudent monetary policy more flexible and better tailored to boost financial services to enterprises. Producers of materials used in the epidemic control and prevention will be offered more favorable interest rates with credit. The government will refine differentiated financial services to be offered to regions, sectors and business hit hard by the epidemic. The employment-first policy will be carried out with greater intensity, and fiscal, tax, financial and social security polices for small and medium-sized enterprises will be further optimized. Enterprises of all kinds, including state-owned enterprises, are guided to restore production orderly while bringing the epidemic under control. Multiple measures will be taken to ensure a stable job market for college graduates and other job seekers.
The meeting underscored a larger domestic demand and stable foreign needs. Investment of special bonds issued by local authorities will be further optimized, and the central government budget will be put to better use. More will be done to spur private investment and push for progress in a number of key projects. The government will promote the expansion of consumption services, boost consumption of commodities and unleash the potential of emerging consumption sectors. Foreign trade business will receive support to speed up the resumption of production, and authorities will offer more aid in trade financing and export credit insurance. The legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors will be better protected as the country pledges more efforts in improving its investment environment.
The meeting said that it is a “major battle” as well as a “big test” to well coordinate the epidemic prevention and control, and the economic and social development, urging Party committees, governments and leading officials at all levels to shoulder their responsibilities and pass the test with the courage to shoulder responsibility, the wisdom to carry out scientific containment, the vision for a coordinated and balanced plan, as well as the ability to organize and implement it. The founding mission is to be put into place with a satisfying grade in the “big test” so as to meet targets set for this year while wining the people’s war against the epidemic outbreak.
The meeting also discussed other issues.