PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION

On May 24, Xi joined deliberations with lawmakers from Central China's Hubei province, which was the hardest hit by COVID-19.

"We must face the problems upfront, step up reform and waste no time in addressing the shortcomings, insufficiencies and loopholes exposed by the epidemic," he said, stressing fortifying the public health protection network.

Xi noted several priorities: reforming the disease prevention and control system; boosting epidemic monitoring, early warning and emergency response capacity; perfecting the treatment system for major epidemics; and improving public health emergency laws and regulations.

ENHANCING NATIONAL DEFENSE

When attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force, Xi commended their role in battling COVID-19 and stressed achieving the targets and missions of strengthening the national defense and armed forces for 2020.

The epidemic has brought a profound impact on the global landscape and on China's security and development as well, he said.

He ordered the military to think about worst-case scenarios, scale up training and battle preparedness, promptly and effectively deal with all sorts of complex situations, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Noting that this year marks the end of the 13th five-year plan for military development, Xi said extraordinary measures must be taken to overcome the impact of the epidemic to ensure major tasks on the military building are achieved.