President Xi Jinping extends festive greetings to all Chinese people via video links on Jan 19, 2023, ahead of the Spring Festival which starts from Jan 22 this year. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping on Wednesday extended festive greetings to all Chinese people when he held virtual talks with the general public from across the country ahead of the Spring Festival.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke with medical workers in a hospital, senior citizens at a welfare home, workers at an outlying oilfield, travelers and staff members at a high-speed railway station, vendors and customers at a wholesale market, and people in an ethnic minority village via video link.

Xi wished Chinese people of all ethnic groups healthy and happy lives in the Year of the Rabbit and expressed his hope that the country will enjoy prosperity

Xi wished Chinese people of all ethnic groups healthy and happy lives in the Year of the Rabbit and expressed his hope that the country will enjoy prosperity.This year's Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on Jan 22.

Safe travels

Xi stressed efforts to ensure safe passenger trips during the Spring Festival.

Through video link, Xi extended his festival greetings to passenger railway staff at Zhengzhou East Station in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou and talked with passengers on the station platform.

He asked the passengers if they were heading back home for family reunions or out traveling and reminded them of safety awareness during their trips.

Xi underscored the importance of the Spring Festival travel to people's immediate interests, economic development, and social stability.

He said this year's Spring Festival travel rush is the first after the country entered a new phase of COVID response, with a major recovery of passenger flows. He urged efforts to ensure safe and sound trips for the people and smooth and orderly flows of essential supplies.

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Xi also called for efforts to strengthen the monitoring and early warning of extreme weather conditions and carry out safety overhauls to prevent major safety accidents.

Xi also demanded strict implementation of anti-COVID measures to reduce infection risks to the minimum.  

COVID-19 response

Xi also talked about the country's COVID-19 response, saying the light of hope is right ahead.

"We have now entered a new phase of COVID-19 response. Tough challenges remain, but the light of hope is right in front of us. Perseverance means victory," he said, while talking with medical workers and an elderly patient at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The country had made "the right choice" to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic with strict measures over the past nearly three years, Xi said, adding that China has thus withstood several rounds of outbreaks of virus mutations.

China has lowered the proportion of severe cases and the case fatality rate to the greatest extent possible, protected people's lives and health, and bought precious time for the later moves to optimize response and downgrade the management of COVID-19, Xi said.

The focus of the current COVID-19 response has shifted from infection prevention to medical treatment, with protecting people's health and preventing severe cases being the priority, said Xi, noting that hospitals are now undertaking more arduous tasks.

Xi demanded efforts to increase medical resources and the supply of medical services and drugs, and to prepare for medical treatment of severe cases in particular.

While talking with older people and staffers at a welfare home in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, Xi said stricter epidemic prevention and health management measures should be taken at nursing homes and welfare facilities to prevent clusters of infection, as older people are the top priority in the current COVID-19 response stage.

Chatting with villagers in Mianyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, via video link, Xi said he was primarily concerned about rural areas and rural residents after the country adjusted its COVID-19 response measures.

Xi stressed efforts to improve medical care for those most vulnerable to the virus in rural areas, and ensure the health of rural residents and their normal running of work and life to the maximum extent possible.

Food supply

Xi also stressed efforts to ensure a stable food supply during the holiday.

Through video link, Xi extended his holiday greetings to vendors and customers at the Xinfadi wholesale market, a major fresh-produce marketplace in Beijing.

To his delight, Xi heard that the food price was stable and the provision of various produce was sufficient.

Xi stressed redoubled efforts to ensure sound production, sale, and supply of essential commodities such as grain, edible oil, meat, eggs, milk, fruits, and vegetables.

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A smooth delivery, sufficient and diversified provisions, and the stable market price of these commodities should be guaranteed during the holiday so that people can have a happy and sound Chinese New Year, Xi said.

Stable energy supply, prices

Xi stressed the importance of stable energy supply and price ahead of the Spring Festival.

"Energy security concerns the overall economic and social development of our country. It is one of the most important security issues," Xi told employees of the Tarim oilfield in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Noting that winter is the peak season for energy use in China, Xi said that no efforts should be spared to ensure the supply of coal, electricity, petroleum and natural gas, and to keep their prices stable

Noting that winter is the peak season for energy use in China, Xi said that no efforts should be spared to ensure the supply of coal, electricity, petroleum and natural gas, and to keep their prices stable.

He stressed the importance of being fully prepared to deal with possible extreme cold waves, guaranteeing energy supply and ensuring people stay warm this winter.

Noting the important role of state-owned enterprises directly under the central government, Xi asked them to make all-out efforts to increase output and ensure supply to meet the energy consumption needs of economic and social development.

Located in the Taklimakan Desert, Xinjiang, the Tarim oilfield of the China National Petroleum Corporation is a major natural gas source for the country's West-to-East gas pipelines. It provides natural gas for residents in southern Xinjiang and provinces, regions and municipalities along the pipelines. 

Rural revitalization

Xi also called for more achievements in rural revitalization.

Speaking with villagers and tourists in Shiyi Village in southwest China's Sichuan province, Xi called on them to strive for common prosperity to make their lives better.

Xi extended festive greetings to the villagers and tourists, and he also sent Spring Festival wishes to all rural residents across China and those working hard on the frontline in the country's rural revitalization cause.

He asked local officials and tourists about the village's tourism. Hearing positive feedback, Xi stressed the role of agricultural specialties and rural tourism in the rural revitalization of the new era.