Residents take nucleic acid tests at a testing post set up at a primary school in Dongxihu District in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 15, 2020. Wuhan will arrange nucleic acid tests for all residents who have not been tested before, in order to better know the number of asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus. The decision was made as the virus-ravaged city continued to report daily increases of asymptomatic infections, which raised concerns among the public. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

President Xi Jinping Tuesday called for efforts to develop a strong public health system to safeguard people's health. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when presiding over a symposium attended by experts and scholars. 

Noting that the people's security is the cornerstone of national security, Xi called for readiness for worst-case scenarios, stronger awareness of potential dangers and constant efforts to forestall major risks in health care. 

"Only by developing a strong public health system, improving the early warning and response mechanisms, comprehensively enhancing the capacity for prevention, control and treatment, weaving a tight prevention and control network, and consolidating the wall of quarantine, can we provide a strong guarantee for safeguarding the people's health," Xi said. 

Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Huning, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, who are both members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. 

Experts and scholars, including academicians with the Chinese Academy of Engineering such as Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory professor at Guangzhou Medical University, and Zhang Boli, head of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, spoke and put forward suggestions at the symposium. 

Xi exchanged views with experts and scholars who spoke at the symposium.