Chinese President Xi Jinping has once again expressed his gratitude for the help given by the international community in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
He was commenting during phone conversations with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday.
He reaffirmed China's willingness to strengthen cooperation with the international community to jointly safeguard regional and global public health security.
In their conversations, President Xi clearly stated that China's epidemic control measures are achieving positive results and that his country is confident in being able to achieve this year's set goals for economic and social development
He said China will continue to cooperate with the international community in an open and transparent manner.
Since the epidemic broke out nearly a month ago, China has introduced a series of strict measures, including a lockdown of cities to most effectively contain the spread of the virus both domestically and internationally.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said, "the steps China has taken to contain the outbreak at its source appear to have bought the world time."
The number of confirmed cases of infection outside China accounts for less than one percent of the total.
China's efforts have also won praise from around the world, with French President Emanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson being the latest country leaders to express their appreciation for China's timely and effective measures and its high degree of openness and transparency in combating the virus.
Also on Tuesday, The Lancet published a joint statement by 27 scientists from countries such as Britain, Germany, the United States and Australia, voicing their full support to Chinese scientists and medical professionals fighting on the front lines of the epidemic as well as their opposition to conspiracy theories and unhelpful disinformation.
While the Chinese people are working hard to contain the epidemic, businesses in the country have also started resuming production, aiming to re-energize global supply chains that have been suspended since the early days of the epidemic.
President Xi said China has both the confidence and capacity to achieve this year's targets for economic and social development, citing the economy's strong resilience, broad space for domestic demand and a solid industrial foundation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his belief that the Chinese people will prevail over the epidemic and minimize its impact on the country's economic and social development.
Source: CGTN
