Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed contributions made by medical workers in the country's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and called on them to continue to give priority to the people and their lives. 

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has sent greetings to medical workers across the country ahead of China's Medical Workers' Day, which falls on Wednesday.

Medical workers are important forces to promote the development of the health industry, he said, adding that they have made arduous efforts and remarkable contributions in fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak.

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This year, Chinese medical workers fought at the front line against the epidemic in Wuhan and other parts of Hubei Province, the worst-hit region, and across the country. 

"At the outset, some 540,000 medical workers from Wuhan and other parts of Hubei plunged into the fray, joined soon by more than 40,000 civilian and military medical workers who rushed from other parts of the country," said a white paper titled "Fighting COVID-19: China in Action" published in June by the Chinese government. 

"Millions of medical workers grappled with the epidemic at the front line across the country," it said. "They built a Great Wall against the virus, bringing light and hope to the nation at a dark time." 

"More than 2,000 medical workers were infected, and scores died in the line of duty," the white paper noted.

In his greetings, Xi called on medical workers to be committed to the principle of giving priority to the people and their lives, make efforts for the progress of medical services, and make new contributions for improving people's health and welfare. 

He also urges authorities at various levels and the whole society to care for medical workers and support their professional training and innovation. 

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On August 20, 2016, Xi stressed at a national meeting on health that public health should be given priority in China's development strategy, calling for full protection of people's health. 

On November 3, 2017, the State Council approved a proposal for establishing the national Medical Workers' Day, making August 19 the day to acknowledge and commemorate the efforts of Chinese medical personnel. Wednesday marks China's third Medical Workers' Day.