Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Wednesday chaired a leadership meeting on implementing epidemic prevention and control measures and fully advancing work resumption. 

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee analyzed the COVID-19 situation and economic performance at home and abroad. 

Xi said there's been a consistent and positive trend in the prevention and control of the pandemic, and the restoration of normal production and everyday life has sped up. 

Read more: Wuhan ends months-long lockdown as COVID-19 is now effectively controlled

However, new situations and problems, especially the spread of the virus across the world and its negative impacts on the world economy, have brought new challenges, he said. 

By Tuesday, confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide exceeded 1.4 million, with the death toll surpassing 81,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Xi said China needs to be well prepared to deal with long-term challenges to the health system and the economy.  

He called for more efforts to prevent imported cases and efforts to speed up economic and social development, so as to minimize losses caused by the pandemic and secure a decisive victory in fighting poverty as well as building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

He said it is necessary to consolidate the effectiveness of pandemic prevention and control in key areas. 

Xi demanded intensified efforts in treating severe cases in Wuhan City and Hubei Province and said community-based epidemic control measures should be improved.

Xi underlined that great importance should be attached to pandemic prevention and control in Beijing. 

He called for special attention to the prevention and control of asymptomatic cases, and urged the whole country to block any loopholes that may cause the virus to rebound.  

The meeting demanded the strengthening of the prevention and control of COVID-19 efforts at land and sea ports and solving difficulties in implementation of quarantine, supply of pandemic prevention materials and so on. 

The meeting said authorities must stop local transmission of the virus from infected people returning from abroad. 

It is necessary to strictly implement the 14-day centralized isolation requirement for all people entering China, and to carry out in-depth international cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control and to contribute to international pandemic prevention cooperation, said the meeting. 

The meeting also emphasized the need to stabilize market supplies and prices, and urged more efforts to help small and medium-sized enterprises.

More work should be done to improve people's livelihood and guarantee the basic life of people in need, said the meeting, adding that temporary living allowances should be issued to areas severely affected by the virus. 

The meeting also underlined the importance of the prevention of fire, flood and drought in grasslands and forests, and urged relevant departments to improve emergency response capabilities to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. 

(Cover: Workers work at a vehicle chair manufacture factory in Lintong District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, February 26, 2020. /Xinhua)