BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua/GNA) – China’s
measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic are achieving visible
progress as the battle has reached a crucial time, Chinese President Xi Jinping
said in a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Tuesday.
In the phone call, Xi expressed his
gratitude to Queen Elizabeth II and Johnson for their sympathies with China’s
fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, noting that Britain has offered China
supplies in support of the fight, which demonstrates the friendship between the
two countries and the two peoples.
Since the outbreak, China has always
prioritized its people’s safety and health, given full play to its
institutional advantages, mobilized the entire country, and adopted the most
comprehensive, rigorous and thorough prevention and control measures, Xi said.
“Thanks to those arduous efforts, the
situation is witnessing positive changes, and China’s prevention and control
measures are achieving visible progress”, he added.
Now the battle against the epidemic has
arrived at a crucial time, he pointed out, stressing that China will strive to
reduce the impact of the epidemic while resolutely carrying out the prevention
and control efforts.
Noting that the Chinese economy enjoys
strong resilience, broad space for domestic demand and a solid industrial
foundation, Xi said that China has confidence and capacity to achieve this
year’s targets for economic and social development, especially such key tasks
as securing a victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all
respects and in eliminating poverty.
Upholding the idea of building a community
with a shared future for mankind, China is not only responsible for the safety
and health of its people, but also committed to the cause of safeguarding
international public health, Xi noted.
China has made enormous efforts, and has
effectively contained the global spread of the virus, Xi said, adding that the
Chinese side will continue to cooperate with Britain and all other countries in
an open and transparent manner.
Against the backdrop of increasing global
challenges, China and Britain, both permanent members of the UN Security
Council, should work together to shoulder more responsibilities and make more
achievements, so as to lead the China-Britain comprehensive strategic
partnership to a fresh journey in the new decade, Xi said.
He said that the two sides should grasp the
general direction of the development of bilateral relations from strategic and
political perspectives, stick to the principle of win-win cooperation, and
accommodate each other’s core interests and major concerns on the basis of
mutual respect.
The two sides should also strengthen
high-level exchanges, tap into their economic complementarity and carry out
more practical cooperation, Xi noted.
He added that the Chinese side stands ready
to work with the British side to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and
strengthen communication on major international and regional issues.
For his part, Johnson, on behalf of the
British government and people, expressed sympathies to the Chinese people over
the COVID-19 outbreak, and highly appreciated China’s comprehensive and
effective measures to prevent and control the epidemic, timely sharing of
information with the international community, and efforts to stop the virus
from spreading on a worldwide scale.
The British side admires China’s speed and
efficiency in the fight against the epidemic and stands ready to continue to
provide China with support and assistance, the prime minister said.
Johnson also expressed his belief that under
the leadership of Xi, the Chinese people will prevail over the epidemic and
minimize its impact on the country’s economic and social development.
He added that he loves China, and stands
ready to lead the new British government to work with the Chinese side to
strengthen exchanges at all levels, deepen cooperation in various fields, and
push for continuous achievements in the “golden era” of bilateral
relations.
Britain welcomes investment from Chinese
enterprises and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China within the
framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.
Britain and China, both influential major
countries, share similar positions on many international issues, Johnson said,
noting that both sides advocate multilateralism, support free trade and
safeguard a multilateral trading system.
The British side stands ready to enhance
coordination with China on the 2020 UN Climate Change Conference to be held in
Britain and the upcoming 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity in China, so as to jointly promote international
cooperation on climate change, he added.
GNA