President Xi Jinping's leadership has been crucial in China's tough fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which has shown encouraging signs. 

"I have been personally commanding the disease prevention and control work," Xi told World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during their meeting on January 28, stressing that people's safety and health always come first. 

Tedros said Xi's personal guidance and deployment show his great leadership capability. 

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has made important remarks at various top-level meetings on epidemic prevention and control work and approved sending thousands of medical personnel from the armed forces to treat patients in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province and the epicenter of the outbreak.

"I have been paying constant attention to the epidemic prevention and control work and made oral or written instructions every day," he said at an unprecedented teleconference on February 23, addressing about 170,000 officials at various levels nationwide. 

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On January 7, Xi issued requirements on the epidemic prevention and control work when he chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. 

On January 20, he demanded that Party committees and governments at all levels put people's lives and health as the top priority and make resolute efforts to curb the spread of the virus. 

On January 25, the first day of the lunar Chinese New Year, Xi chaired another meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, focusing on the COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting decided to form a central leading group on the epidemic, dispatch a central guiding team, and demand a State Council inter-agency task force play its full role in coordination.

Afterward, Xi held five meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and one meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to study epidemic control and resumption of work and production. 

He also made requirements on epidemic prevention and control from various aspects when he chaired meetings of a number of central commissions on overall law-based governance, cyberspace affairs, overall deepening reform and foreign affairs. 

On February 10, Xi inspected COVID-19 prevention and control work in Beijing and heard reports from the front line in the hardest-hit province of Hubei through video links. He stressed resolutely winning the people's war against the epidemic. 

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"The Chinese nation has experienced many ordeals in its history, but it has never been overwhelmed. Instead, it has become more courageous and more mature, rising up from the hardships," he said at the teleconference on February 23, calling on authorities at all levels to coordinate epidemic control and economic and social development.

Efforts should be made to fully unleash the huge potential and powerful driving force of China's development and strive to achieve the goals and tasks for economic and social development this year, Xi said. 

China has vowed to eradicate absolute poverty, finish the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and complete the 13th Five-Year Plan by 2020. 

On March 2, the Chinese leader visited the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he stressed advancing the scientific research on COVID-19 to provide support for winning the battle. 
 

Xi also met with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga in Beijing and had telephone conversations with leaders of a number of countries after the outbreak, explaining China's efforts to contain the virus and exchanging views on international cooperation in the global fight. 

(With input from Xinhua)