He urged for strong efforts and decisive measures to curb the spread of novel coronavirus pneumonia in order to win the battle against the epidemic.

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was also held that stressed the importance of rolling out more targeted tax cuts and fee reductions to alleviate difficulties faced by businesses, and of making prudent monetary policy more flexible and better tailored to boost financial services to enterprises.

Xi stressed that that epidemic control and prevention are now at their toughest and most critical period, and the country must spare no effort to continue with key tasks against the contagion. The employment-first policy will be carried out with greater intensity, and fiscal, tax, financial and social security policies for small and medium-sized enterprises will be further optimized. The government will refine differentiated financial services to be offered to regions, sectors and businesses hit hard by the outbreak. Foreign trade businesses will receive support to speed up the resumption of production, and authorities will offer more aid in trade financing and export credit insurance.

In his speech, he also highlighted key messages to the public:

Wuhan is a heroic city, and people of Hubei and Wuhan are heroic people who have never been crushed by any difficulty and danger in history.

If Wuhan wins the battle against the virus, Hubei will. If Hubei wins the battle, the nation will.

We can certainly obtain a full victory in the fight against the epidemic.

Close attention must be paid to employment and large-scale layoffs should be avoided.

The fundamentals of China’s long-term economic development remain unchanged and the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on the economy is short-lived.