XI CALLS FOR REFORMING PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS

China will reform its disease prevention and control system to improve the capabilities in pandemic monitoring and emergency response, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

The prevention of major pandemics and resolving public health risks are of great significance for national security and social stability, which should be planned from an overall perspective, Xi said.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while speaking with deputies from Hubei province at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

China's health systems have played an important role in dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak, but shortcomings have also been exposed, Xi said, adding that more reform measures are needed to plug gaps.

Xi pointed out that prevention is the most effective and economic strategy, and the operation of disease prevention institutions should be improved.

Xi said the system of surveillance for unknown diseases and abnormal health incidents should be reformed and risks should be analyzed at an early stage. He also instructed authorities to strengthen capacity building in the response to outbreaks.

Coordinated efforts must be made in the response of hospitals, cooperation between regions and mobilization of personnel in emergencies, Xi said, adding that the building of national and regional medical centers should be strengthened.

He instructed authorities to speed up the creation of a comprehensive set of public health laws and regulations and improve the system for enforcing laws on disease prevention and control.

The president urged authorities to improve the environment in urban and rural areas, bolster public health infrastructure and promote health education and healthy lifestyles, including social distancing, wearing masks outdoors and trash sorting.

The people in Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, have made great contributions in the fight against COVID-19, Xi said, adding that he extended best wishes and thanks to the heroic people of Hubei and Wuhan.

He cautioned that disease prevention measures should be continuously enforced to prevent imported cases or a resurgence of COVID-19, given that the virus is still spreading widely overseas, cases still exist in some places in the nation and separate cases are confirmed in Hubei from time to time.

As the most hard-hit Chinese province that underwent the most restrictions for the longest time, Hubei is facing many difficulties in reactivating its economy, Xi said.

The CPC Central Committee has written policies to support the economic and social development of Hubei, he said, adding that local authorities should coordinate disease prevention work with development.

TOP COURT TO EASE LITIGATION FOR FOREIGNERS

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's top court has been working on legal documents and calling for the wide application of online platforms in judicial work to ensure the quality and efficiency of foreign-related case hearings, a chief judge of the court said.

"The pandemic, which is still affecting the world, has brought difficulties to litigants at home and abroad as well as to our trials involving foreigners," Wang Shumei, head of the No 4 Civil Division at the Supreme People's Court, said on the sidelines of the two sessions, the annual gatherings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body.

Wang said difficulties in handling foreign-related civil and commercial disputes could last half a year or longer, but the top court has started researching solutions such as issuing judicial interpretations, drafting guidelines and disclosing typical cases for reference.

"Take the guidelines that are being drafted as an example. The amount of time that should be extended for overseas litigants when submitting case materials to Chinese courts during the outbreak will be clarified soon," she said, adding that the top court will make it more convenient for those involved in lawsuits during the pandemic.

The work report the Supreme People's Court delivered to the annual meeting of the National People's Congress last year showed that courts across the country increased international communication on the rule of law and resolved many lawsuits involving foreigners with fair and efficient legal services. The court's resolution methods are expected to be elaborated on again in this year's work report, which will be delivered on Monday afternoon.

Statistics provided by the top court showed that courts nationwide concluded 17,000 civil and commercial disputes involving foreign litigants last year, about 2,000 more than in 2018.

With higher demand for dispute resolution from litigants doing international business, "the number of foreign-related cases heard by our courts has kept rising," Wang said.

Foreign litigants involved in such disputes last year came from countries including the United States, Vietnam and Canada. The disputes mainly dealt with private loans, divorces, trademark infringements and purchase contracts, Wang said.

ECONOMIC ARSENAL 'SUFFICIENT' TO SUPPORT GROWTH

China is capable of reaching its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by next year with support from macroeconomic policies, despite troubles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, political advisers said.

The country has sufficient policy tools to tackle economic challenges amid the pandemic, and the fiscal and financial system is generally stable, Yang Weimin, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said in a speech on Sunday.

Both fiscal and monetary policies have "sufficient ammunition" to support economic growth, said Yang, former deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs.

Liu Wei, president of Renmin University of China and a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee, said China's potential GDP growth rate is estimated to be 3 percent this year.

Also, a member of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, Liu said strong expansionary policies to stimulate aggregate demand and measures to promote supply-side structural reforms were likely to drive up GDP growth to around 5 percent. But China "will pay a high price" for employing such policies and measures, he warned at a CPPCC meeting on Saturday.

Instead of setting a specific GDP growth target, this year's Government Work Report made safeguarding employment and people's livelihoods priorities, considering the impact of the pandemic.

The government is aiming for a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 6 percent this year and is seeking to create more than 9 million jobs in urban areas. These targets may require a GDP growth rate higher than 4 percent, Liu said.

China has launched many measures−such as raising the debt-to-GDP ratio, extending government debt, increasing liquidity and lowering financing costs−to offset the impact of the pandemic.

Political advisers suggested that macroeconomic policies, including fiscal and monetary measures, be more targeted.

"As long as these policies are in place, China will take the lead in achieving economic stability and recovery," Yang said. "The epidemic has brought many changes, but it cannot change the fundamentals and momentum of China's long-term economic growth."

Economists believe China's sustainable economic growth will mainly rely on huge domestic demand, but the country will not abandon the international market. The urbanization process will continue to create a new driving force for the economy.

"Markets are the most scarce resources for economic growth in modern society. Any rational investor will not give up on the large and growing Chinese market," said Yang, who also stressed the importance of deepening reform and opening-up.

FM WARNS OF EFFORTS TO PROVOKE 'NEW COLD WAR'

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Sunday of the need to be alert to some political forces' efforts in the United States to push the US and China toward a "new Cold War". He also urged Washington to cooperate with Beijing in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang, speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the third session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, said it is regrettable that a political virus that loses no chance to attack and smear China is also spreading in the US while innocent lives are being taken away every day in the country now hit hardest by the outbreak.

COVID-19 has infected more than 1.56 million people in the US with total deaths over 94,000 as of Sunday, according to the World Health Organization.

Some US politicians have fabricated too many lies and plotted too many conspiracies about China regardless of the most basic facts, and the lies have been compiled into a list recently posted on the internet, he said.

"The longer the list … the more stains they will leave in history," Wang said, adding that the issue of tracing the origin of the virus is one of the lies.

Even though it is a scientific issue that should be studied by scientists and medical specialists, some US politicians have rushed to label the virus, politicize its origin and stigmatize China, he said.

Wang said China is open to international scientific cooperation on identifying the source of the virus, but it should be conducted in a professional, fair and constructive way.

The work to identify its origin should not affect the current top priority of saving lives, should not undermine anti-pandemic cooperation among countries and should not weaken the role of the World Health Organization, he said.

He criticized the abuse of litigation in the US and other countries that are trying to hold China "accountable" for the outbreak, saying those who want to make China pay compensation are daydreaming.

"The lawsuits against China over COVID-19 have zero basis in fact, law or international precedents," he said, adding that China is also a victim of the sudden outbreak.

Clamoring for so-called "accountability and compensation" from a victim of COVID-19 and fabricating so-called evidence for frivolous lawsuits trample on international rule of law and betray human conscience, Wang added.

"If anybody thought they could use some ludicrous lawsuits to undermine China's sovereignty and dignity or to deprive the Chinese people of their hard-won gains, they'd be daydreaming and bring disgrace to themselves," he said.

COVID-19 is a common enemy of China and the US, Wang said, and mutual support and assistance are the common aspirations of people in both countries.

He called on the two countries to learn from each other and share their experience to fight the virus, jointly participate in and promote multilateral cooperation and carry out early coordination and communication over macro policies regarding the pandemic's impact on the economies of both countries and the world.

SEVEN ARTICLES OF PROPOSED NATIONAL SECURITY LEGISLATION

A draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security was submitted to China's national legislature for deliberation on Friday.

Wang Chen, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) explained the draft decision to the third session of the 13th NPC, which runs from May 22 to 28.

Watch the video to learn about the seven articles of the draft decision.

HOW CHINA SET OCT 1 AS ITS NATIONAL DAY

China's first proposal to the CPPCC National Committee 71 years ago was of great significance as it suggested making Oct 1, the founding day of the PRC, the National Day of the country.

Decades on, based on people and nation's actual needs, the proposals to the CPPCC National Committee have been an important driver behind social progress and changes in people's lives

Regular epidemic control, economic growth, poverty alleviation, employment…

These are the hot topics for this year's ongoing session of China's national political advisers and much is expected from advisers in what they suggest in their proposals.

HK RESIDENTS HOPE SECURITY LEGISLATION QUELLS VIOLENCE

Hong Kong residents voiced their support on Sunday for the national security legislation put forward by China's top legislature, hoping it can restore peace in the city and free it from the street violence that put businesses and people's livelihoods in great peril.

Meanwhile, a petition in support of the legislation launched on Saturday in Hong Kong received signatures from over 490,000 people by 9:30 pm Sunday.

Pang Shun-mee, a 77-year-old former civil servant who was among the signatories, said "heavy penalties are the right medicine to treat a chaotic society".

He said Hong Kong needs such a resolution as the city has been suffering from violence and chaos triggered by "traitors" and a small group of rioters who have lost their sense of national identity.

Pang said they should be severely punished by the forthcoming national security law.

"These people are trying to deprive other people of their rights for their own political gains and sacrifice other people's freedom for their own freedom," he said.

A European banker based in Hong Kong, who asked to remain anonymous, dismissed speculation that a national security law would be a blow to Hong Kong's status as a financial center.

"If the law contributes to the safety and security of the city, I personally would welcome it," he said. "The financial sector always prefers a stable environment."

He said the violence and instability caused by the protests were the main reasons many banks had left the city since June.

The banker said he was not worried about the business environment in Hong Kong even if the legislation causes short-term market volatility, as some who oppose it have predicted.

Banks that leave will come back, in the same way that some banks that left before 1997, when the city was returned to China, moved back to Hong Kong when they realized the only change was broader opportunities, he said. In fact, more banks have come to the city for business since that year, he said.

The signature campaign, launched both online and through 133 street booths across the city, was initiated by a coalition consisting of over 2,000 political, social, business and education leaders in Hong Kong.

GOVT STEPS TO ENCOURAGE STEADY GROWTH MOMENTUM

China's economy is gradually recovering with steady growth momentum despite disruptions from the COVID-19 outbreak, while it will take further steps to maintain economic stability and promote sustainable growth, according to the country's top economic regulator.

Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that while the novel coronavirus pandemic severely disrupted the Chinese economy, the country's business is getting back to normal. It is doing so with the help of government measures in an orderly resumption of work and production as well as epidemic prevention and control, he added.

"In the next step, the government will make a big push to ensure 'six priorities' and stability in six areas for steady economic momentum, with a key focus on creating jobs, using policy tools, expanding domestic demand, resuming work and production, deepening reforms and opening-up," Ning said at a news conference on Sunday in Beijing.

China has decided not to set a target for this year's economic growth after full consideration of the uncertainties from the pandemic's effects.

"It's not the first time that China has set no specific target for economic growth," Ning added, saying government work reports for 2000, 2001 and 2002 also did not mention the GDP growth target.

"In fact, the economic indicator tasks have been broken into related indicators for other economic and social development goals, and we will work hard to achieve those goals," he said.

The NDRC said China will continue to open up its economy to more foreign investment, and a number of key, foreign-funded projects are expected to be launched this year in fields such as electronic information, new materials and advanced manufacturing.

Particularly, China will resolve any issues that foreign companies may face in resuming work and production, and pro-business policies for domestic enterprises will apply equally to foreign firms.

In the next step, the government will shorten the negative list of areas off limits to foreign investors−all other areas are presumed to be open−and release a new version for 2020, pursuing higher-level opening-up in services, manufacturing and agriculture.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money. – Samuel Johnson