Trust China to 'defeat' coronavirus outbreak, Xi Jinping tells Donald Trump
Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump in a phone call on Friday that China was "fully confident and capable" of defeating the coronavirus outbreak and urged Washington to respond "reasonably" to the epidemic, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Chinese state media also reported that Mr Xi insisted "the long-term trend of China's economic development for the better will not change" because of the virus.
The outbreak, which is believed to have originated in central China late last year, has now infected at least 31,000 people and caused 636 deaths, mostly within China.
Mr Xi called the fight to contain the virus a "people's war" and told Mr Trump that China has implemented "nationwide mobilisation, comprehensive deployment and rapid response" along with "the strictest prevention and control measures" against the virus.
Mr Xi also urged the US to act "reasonably" in response to the outbreak, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Mr Trump "expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak," the White House said in a statement.