China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a special foreign ministers' meeting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Vientiane, Laos on Thursday, to discuss coordinating efforts in fighting the epidemic.

"The outbreak may have some impact on the Chinese economy, but such impact will only be temporary and limited," said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

He noted that, given the resilience and vitality of China's economy, the long-term positive economic trend would not change, adding that China will not only win the battle against the virus, but also endeavor to achieve its economic and social development goals.

China has adopted the most comprehensive, the most stringent and the most thorough preventive measures to establish a prevention system that is effectively stopping the disease from spreading, Wang said.

The measures, implemented with "China speed", have bought time for promptly saving patients and allowed the world to properly respond to the outbreak, showing China's role as a responsible major country, he added.

Epidemics see no boundaries, Wang continued. Sharing a common future as brothers, China and ASEAN countries should effectively prevent the disease from spreading by carrying out closer and more active cooperation, so as to safeguard the health and lives of the people and to forge a closer China-ASEAN community of a shared future, he said.

The novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported in the city of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, in December 2019. The disease has sickened more than 70,000 in China by February 20. But new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province have been dropping for 16 consecutive days thanks to the concerted efforts to fight the virus.

(With input from Xinhua)