NATION WILL KEEP UP EFFORT ON ALL FRONTS

China will continue with unremitting epidemic containment measures, adopt concrete measures to reopen businesses and schools and ensure that its poverty alleviation goals will be met this year, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said on Friday.

Xi made the remark as he presided over a symposium in Beijing convened by the CPC Central Committee to solicit opinions from non-CPC members on COVID-19 prevention and control.

China, after arduous efforts, has attained major strategic outcomes in the battle against the outbreak, he said. It has also achieved positive outcomes in coordinating epidemic containment and socioeconomic development.

The country must ensure that goals set for winning the war against poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects are met, he said.

Xi urged more targeted and effective measures to prevent the importation of infections, enforce and refine normalized containment measures and bolster self-protection awareness among the people to prevent a possible domestic rebound of the outbreak.

The country managed to preliminarily stem the momentum of the virus' spread during a period of over a month, control the number of daily new infections to single digits in around two months and secure decisive outcomes in safeguarding Hubei province and its capital Wuhan from the virus after three months, he said.

It was a hard-won result for a major country with 1.4 billion people, he said. The nation has remained committed to a people-centered approach and mobilized its best doctors, equipment and most desperately needed resources in all-out efforts to treat infected patients, with all medical costs covered by the government, he said. In doing so, China has maximized testing efficiency, improved recovery rates and made the utmost efforts to reduce infection and mortality rates.

The whole nation, in various ways, has joined the battle against the pandemic and forged an indestructible force. The country has showcased its strength, spirit and efficiency with its mobilization of resources from the whole of society and various sectors, he added.

China has also offered help within its capacity to other countries and international organizations, which showed it to be a responsible major country, he said.

Xi also said the pandemic has also exposed some weak links in the mechanisms to cope with major outbreaks and in the public health system. It is important to reform and refine the disease control and prevention system, establish an epidemic containment and medical treatment system for emergencies and non-emergencies and accelerate the building of a new system pooling national resources for the research and development of core technologies, he added.

XI, PUTIN AGREE ON NEED FOR SOLIDARITY

China is willing to work with Russia to safeguard the outcomes of World War II victory, uphold international justice and support and practice multilateralism, President Xi Jinping said in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Friday.

Xi offered warm congratulations to Putin and the Russian people as the country celebrated the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, Russia's term for World War II. The call was the third between the two leaders in three months.

The war was an unprecedented disaster, and China and Russia, main battlefields in Asia and Europe, made huge sacrifices and indelible contributions to the victory, which saved mankind from grave danger, he said.

The two peoples fought alongside each other and forged a great friendship, which served as an inexhaustible impetus for bilateral relations and everlasting friendship, he noted.

Xi underscored that the two nations shouldered a special mission to safeguard world peace and security and promote the development and progress of mankind, and they must always remain committed to defending world peace, advancing global development and upholding international order.

Epidemic containment efforts in Russia, under Putin's leadership, are paying off, and China has full confidence in the country's final victory over the pandemic, he said.

The international community should give play to the spirit of the world anti-Fascist war, step up coordination and solidarity and implement the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind to jointly win the battle that concerns the life, safety and health of people of all nations, he said.

He added that it is his belief that with the concerted efforts of China, Russia and the international community, the world will conquer the virus and secure eventual victory.

Putin said Russia stands ready to step up comprehensive strategic coordination with China and showcase the resolve of jointly upholding world peace, adding that any attempt that tampers with history or dismisses history will be disallowed.

Russia is willing to borrow experience on epidemic containment from China and launch joint programs on the development and research of vaccines, he said.

He also voiced opposition to certain forces using the pandemic as an excuse to denounce China, saying that Russia will stand firmly with China.

CHINA-US DISCUSSION ON TRADE CALLED POSITIVE SIGN

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He spoke by phone with United States trade officials on Friday morning, sending a signal that bilateral cooperation may be cemented while a full-scale decoupling is "really unlikely," a prominent expert said.

In the call between Liu, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, both nations said China and the US should strengthen cooperation in macroeconomy and public health, and strive to create favorable conditions for implementing the phase-one trade deal that they inked in mid-January.

The two parties agreed to maintain communications on key issues, according to the statement released by the Ministry of Commerce.

China and the US have not completely resolved all their trade disputes despite the phase-one pact. The novel coronavirus outbreak further complicated the issue.

Nevertheless, one expert said a full decoupling of the world's top two economies is "really unlikely", and an escalation of tensions between China and the US would have additional global effects during and after the pandemic.

"I do not think, though, that in the short term we are going to see what people are calling a full-scale decoupling of the two economies. I think that's really unlikely," said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"Because American businesses don't want to do that, and America's trading allies don't want to do that. So, if the US continues to push down this front, what's most likely is an isolated US, not an isolated China," Kennedy told reporters during a teleconference on Thursday.

China has remained committed to the phase-one deal. On April 23, China's Ministry of Commerce said that the two countries should take the opportunity to fulfill the trade agreement, which also would enhance cooperation and remove destabilizing factors.

In the first four months, China imported 256.18 billion yuan ($36.21 billion) in US goods, Chinese customs officials said. They dropped 3 percent on a yearly basis, but it was less than the 3.2-percent drop in the nation's overall imports.

STUDENTS IN LOW-RISK AREAS GO MASK FREE

Students in areas with low risks of infection of the novel coronavirus are not required to wear masks at school as many local governments are stepping up efforts to reopen classrooms, according to a notice on Friday.

The notice, released by the National Health Commission and Ministry of Education, focuses on control and prevention of COVID-19 at kindergartens, elementary, junior and senior high schools.

The notice came after the death of a 15-year-old junior high student who collapsed and died when wearing a mask while running during a sports class in Dancheng county, Henan province, on April 24.

The student's father claimed that his son may have died because he was wearing a mask while running, though the cause was left unsettled, according to a report in Health Times.

In late April, some provinces and cities such as Hainan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen launched guidelines saying that students don't need to wear masks during outdoor sports.

Friday's notice stressed that schools should also guide students to properly wear masks on campus, though students in low-risk areas are not required to wear them.

According to the notice, staff and students should report their health conditions and whereabouts in the last 14 days to the school before returning to campus. Also, schools are required to urge people with symptoms, including fever, fatigue, dry cough or diarrhea, to seek medical help.

Students and staff are not allowed to have lessons or give lectures when they have these symptoms, the notice said.

Schools are also required to limit population density and ensure social distancing.

Mass gatherings should be strictly controlled and any on-site meeting must have prior approval of the local education authorities, the notice said.

MALLS, SUPERMARKETS, HOTELS TO BE FULLY REOPENED IN CHINA

China is set to orderly open up public places and entertainment venues, according to a guideline issued by the State Council on Friday.

Shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and other public places will be fully reopened on the premise of implementing epidemic prevention measures, the guideline said.

Meanwhile, outdoor places including parks, scenic spots and sports venues will be opened through appointments and with restrictions on visitor numbers.

The guideline also noted that indoor sites such as libraries, museums and art galleries, as well as entertainment venues like movie theaters and arcades, may host meetings and exhibitions where necessary.

SPACECRAFT RE-ENTRY MODEL TEST SUCCESSFUL

The re-entry module of the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft successfully returned to the Earth on Friday afternoon, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

The center said in a statement that at the beginning of the re-entry process, the prototype activated its brake engines after receiving control signals from the center and started to move toward the Earth. The module was not occupied during the test.

Then the re-entry module separated from the prototype's service module at 1:33 pm and began to fall back into the atmosphere at an ultrafast speed of 9 kilometers per second.

As the module approached the ground, it released parachutes to decelerate before finally landing at 1:49 pm at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The descent was monitored by the Beijing center with the final part tracked by helicopters. The craft was recovered by personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The entire process was not easy because the prototype operated in a highly elliptical orbit with an apogee of 8,000 kilometers, a trajectory designed for the new-generation spacecraft to carry out the country's future manned lunar expeditions, according to the Beijing center.

This led to challenges in orbital planning and control as well as re-entry guidance, officials explained, saying that engineers had rehearsed repeatedly and produced a number of emergency-response plans.

The new spacecraft's prototype, consisting of re-entry and service modules, was lifted into low Earth orbit on the maiden mission of China's Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket on Tuesday evening from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.

During its 68-hour journey, the prototype carried out several scientific experiments and technical tests and also verified key equipment for the new-generation spaceship such as heat-resistance, control and recovery devices, the China Manned Space Agency said.

Once put into formal service, the new manned spaceship will employ world-class designs and technologies and feature great reliability and flexibility, multiple functions and reusability.

The re-entry module will house astronauts and control the craft during spaceflight. The service module will contain power and propulsion systems.

The new spaceship will have a length of 8.8 meters, a diameter of 4.5 meters and a liftoff weight of 21.6 metric tons. It will be tasked with serving the construction and operation of China's soon-to-be-constructed space station as well as the country's manned lunar missions being planned by scientists, the agency explained.

Designers at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing said that compared with the Shenzhou series, the country's operational crewed spacecraft family, the new model will be capable of conducting longer missions, housing more astronauts and cargo and operating in tougher environments.

China will soon start putting together its first manned space station. A total of 11 Long March 5B, Long March 7 and Long March 2F missions will put the station's major components into orbit and transport astronauts there to assemble the station, which is expected to become fully operational around 2022 and operate for about 15 years.

HEALTH ALERT LEVELS LOWERED IN GUANGDONG, SHANGHAI

Guangdong province and Shanghai municipality−the two major front-line areas to prevent and control people with COVID-19 entering the country−lowered their public health emergency alert from Level 2 to Level 3, local officials said.

That leaves only Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, Hebei and Hubei provinces, and parts of the Tibet autonomous region still with Level 2 alerts.

Level 1 is the highest of the four-level public health alert.

Duan Yufei, director of Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, said the province's strategy of guarding against imported cases and a rebound in indigenous cases remains unchanged.

He promised Guangdong will not relax its vigilance as the province still faces challenges in the weeks to come.

"Guangdong is a large economy and the most populous province in the country, and the province that borders Hong Kong and Macao has many annual international events and exchanges," Duan told a news conference in the provincial capital Guangzhou.

He would not rule out the possibility that sporadic cases might arise.

"After lowering the response alert, all hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and bazaars will fully resume production and business while parks, scenic spots, entertainment venues, libraries and museums will also gradually open to the public through advance online reservations, placing limits on the number of visitors, limiting the flow of people and other effective measures to prevent a new outbreak," he said.

He urged people to pay special attention to personal hygiene to prevent infection.

Wang Chuang, deputy director of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, said more than 15 million primary and high school students will gradually return to campuses starting on Monday, when more than 5.5 million students from 10,000 schools in the province head back to school.

Qin Tiehe, a senior disease expert at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, said doctors will pay follow-up visits to COVID-19 patients who have been cured and discharged from hospitals to help prevent and control the recurrence of the disease.

As of Thursday, Guangdong reported 1,589 confirmed patients, including 194 imported cases, with only six hospitalized for treatment.

In Shanghai, the municipal government reiterated its guideline regarding wearing masks.

In addition to those who have fever-like symptoms, people must wear masks when they visit hospitals, schools, welfare facilities and take metros and long-distance buses, authorities said.

Meanwhile people are recommended to wear masks in crowded venues and confined spaces.

Shanghai has reported no local transmissions since early March.

As of Thursday, the metropolis still has 27 COVID-19 patients from overseas in hospital and six suspected cases under observation.

SCHOOLS TO REOPEN TO OVER 84,000 JUNIOR THREE STUDENTS IN BEIJING

Over 84,200 students in their final year of junior high school in Beijing will resume class starting from Monday, May 11, as the COVID-19 epidemic is under control, the municipal education commission said Friday.

Over 13,200 teachers will also return to classrooms, said Li Yi, spokesperson of the commission.

Li said junior three students are more in number and also younger, so more detailed management measures will be taken to prevent infection.

On April 27, nearly 50,000 senior students of high schools in Beijing returned to campus to start their postponed new semester.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

He that cannot endure the bad will not live to see the good. - Jewish Proverb