Wu Kongming, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, delivered an explanation on this topic and put forward work suggestions. Members of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee listened attentively to his presentation and held discussions.
Xi Jinping delivered an important speech while presiding over the session. He pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee has placed biosecurity development in a more prominent position, incorporated it into the national security strategy, promulgated and implemented the Biosecurity Law, issued national biosecurity policies and a national biosecurity strategy, improved the organizational and leadership system and mechanisms for national biosecurity work, actively responded to major biosecurity risks, strengthened the protection and utilization of biological resources, and mobilized the entire Party, the entire country, and society as a whole to wage the people's war against COVID-19. China's awareness of biosecurity prevention and capability for biosecurity protection have continued to grow, the foundation for safeguarding biosecurity has been continuously consolidated, and historic achievements have been made in biosecurity development.
Xi Jinping stressed that today, traditional biosecurity issues and new biosecurity risks are intertwined, external biological threats and internal biological risks coexist, and biosecurity risks are showing many new characteristics. China's biosecurity risk prevention and control and governance system still has weak points and shortcomings. We must scientifically analyze the biosecurity situation in our country, grasp the risks and challenges we face, and clarify the thinking and measures for strengthening biosecurity development.
Xi Jinping pointed out that we must improve the national biosecurity governance system, strengthen strategic and forward-looking research and planning, and refine the national biosecurity strategy. We must improve the biosecurity governance mechanism led by the Party committee, with the government in charge, society in coordination, public participation, and rule-of-law guarantees, and strengthen biosecurity coordination mechanisms at all levels. We must exert efforts across all stages — legislation, enforcement, judiciary, public legal education, and compliance — to improve the system of national biosecurity laws, regulations, and institutional safeguards, strengthen the publicity and education of biosecurity laws, regulations, and knowledge, and enhance society-wide awareness of biosecurity risk prevention. We must consolidate the grassroots foundations of joint prevention and control and mass prevention and control, and wage the people's war on biosecurity risk prevention and control.
Xi Jinping stressed that we must strengthen systematic governance and full-chain prevention and control, adhere to systems thinking, take scientific measures, plan in a coordinated manner, and grasp full-chain governance well. We must weave a tight network for biosecurity risk monitoring and early warning, improve the monitoring and early warning system, focus on building grassroots monitoring stations, and enhance end-point detection capacity. We must rapidly detect and identify risk factors such as new and emerging infectious diseases, major animal and plant epidemics, microbial drug resistance, and biotechnology environmental safety, achieving early detection, early warning, and early response. We must establish and improve emergency response plans for major biosecurity emergencies and refine rapid emergency response mechanisms. We must strengthen reserves of emergency materials and capacity — both stockpiles of physical goods and reserves of production capacity. We must adopt active defense and proactive governance, prevent human disease through animal control, move the line of defense forward, and block the transmission paths of zoonotic diseases at the source. Based on more precise and effective prevention, we must streamline the grassroots system and mechanisms for animal and plant disease prevention and control, clearly define the role of institutions, enhance professional capacity, and consolidate grassroots foundations.
Xi Jinping pointed out that we must keep close watch on key biosecurity risk areas and strengthen bottom-line thinking and risk awareness. We must strengthen the safety supervision of biological resources and formulate and improve catalogs of biological and human genetic resources. We must strengthen entry quarantine, intensify analysis of potential risks and the punishment of violations and illegal acts, and resolutely guard the national gateway. For invasive species that have already entered and caused serious harm, we must determine their full extent and apply "one species, one strategy" precision governance for effective elimination. We must strengthen the management of biosafety in domestic pathogenic microorganism laboratories, strictly implement relevant standards and norms, and rigorously manage experimental samples, laboratory animals, and waste from experimental activities. We must strengthen the management of antimicrobial drug use and residues.
Xi Jinping stressed that we must accelerate biotech innovation and industrial application, advance scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening in the field of biosecurity, build a national strategic scientific and technological force in biosecurity, improve mechanisms for biosecurity research breakthroughs, strictly supervise biotech R&D and application, strengthen biology lab management, and strictly enforce ethical review of research projects and the moral education of scientists. We must promote the healthy development of biotechnology, and on the premise of respecting science, strict supervision, lawful and compliant operation, and ensuring safety, advance the industrial application of areas such as biological breeding and biopharmaceuticals in an orderly manner. We must integrate excellent traditional concepts with modern biotechnology, combine traditional Chinese and Western medicine and use traditional Chinese and Western medicines together, integrate and promote biological control and green prevention and control technologies and models, coordinate the standardized use of antimicrobial drugs, and promote harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
Xi Jinping pointed out that we must actively participate in global biosecurity governance, work with the international community to address increasingly severe biosecurity challenges, and strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation and exchanges in biosecurity policy formulation, risk assessment, emergency response, information sharing, and capacity building. We must successfully host the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, promote the formulation of the "Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework", and contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the world. We must advocate advancing the work of tracing the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the basis of scientific principles and following scientific rules.
Xi Jinping stressed that strengthening biosecurity development is a long-term and arduous task that requires sustained efforts and solid progress. Party committees (Party leading groups) and governments at all levels must align their thinking and actions with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, implement biosecurity work responsibilities, and fulfill their duty to defend their territory. We must increase investment, improve policy measures, strengthen the safeguarding of essential factors, grasp the key tasks of biosecurity development thoroughly, well, and effectively, raise the modernization level of the biosecurity risk prevention and control and governance system, and firmly hold the initiative in national biosecurity. We must persevere in COVID-19 prevention and control, resolutely overcome complacency, war-weariness, complacent psychology, and slack mindset, strictly implement all prevention and control measures, and safeguard the hard-won achievements of prevention and control.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original title: "Xi Jinping Stressed at the 33rd Group Study Session of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee: Strengthen the Building of the National Biosecurity Risk Prevention, Control, and Governance System and Enhance National Biosecurity Governance Capacity"
Editor: Shan Qiu
