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China’s top task is to stop coronavirus, Xi Jinping says
- But Xi says officials must also keep eye on the economy; Chinese stocks fall in post-holiday trading
- Beijing accuses Washington of spreading fear with response to outbreak
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China’s top leaders have doubled down on commitments to contain a coronavirus outbreak and work closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other countries to stop the epidemic from becoming a global health crisis.
At a meeting of the Communist Party’s inner circle, the Politburo Standing Committee, President Xi Jinping said local cadres would be punished severely if they failed to heed Beijing’s orders to stop the virus from spreading.
“[We] must treat the fight of the outbreak as the most important task at hand,” Xi was quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying.
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But he also said officials had to keep an eye on the economy.
The call came as Chinese stocks suffered steep falls in the first day of trading after the extended Lunar New Year break. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 7.7 per cent at 2,746.61, and about 3,000 mainland-listed companies dropped by the 10 per cent daily limit.
The warning from the leadership also coincided with accusations from the Chinese foreign ministry that the US response to the outbreak set a “bad example” for other countries.
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