Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke Friday with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the novel coronavirus outbreak and asked him to assess the epidemic in a ‘calm’ manner. Xi urged America to adopt and adjust its response measures in a ‘reasonable way’ to China’s intensified efforts to contain the dreaded virus that has claimed over 630 lives.
Xi, in his first phone call with Trump since the coronavirus outbreak in December, told the US President that China had launched a ‘people’s war’ against the epidemic that has been wreaking havoc in China and across the world.
‘People’s war’ is an ideological concept developed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong which meant a prolonged struggle with the support of people while fighting for a particular cause.
Xi told Trump that the Chinese government and the people were making their maximum efforts to contain the outbreak.
“We have adopted the most comprehensive and strictest prevention and control measures through mobilising and rapid responses. We have declared a people’s war against the epidemic through prevention and control,” Xi was quoted as saying by state-run CCTV.
“We are fully confident and capable of fighting the epidemic. The long-term trend of China’s economic development will not change,” the Hong Kong-based ‘South China Morning Post’ quoted the official television as reporting.
Xi asked the US side to respond reasonably to the novel coronavirus outbreak, state-run Xinhua news agency said in its report. Noting that China’s prevention and control efforts are gradually yielding positive results, Xi stressed that Beijing had full confidence and capability to overcome the epidemic.