President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Yu Cheng, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress from Hubei province, was a participant in a deliberation attended by President Xi Jinping on Sunday. She and her fellow deputies from the province talked about the people's war on the novel coronavirus in what was the hardest-hit region in China.

"We all feel that our country has made people's lives, health and safety the top priority in the face of an unprecedented epidemic," she said.

Yu, who works at Wuhan Second Light Industry School, volunteered to help community workers in a neighborhood in Wuhan, Hubei's capital, to combat the contagion after the epidemic struck the city.

She called the country's epidemic response a reflection of the governing philosophy of the Communist Party of China, which was highlighted by Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, as "putting people first".

While joining discussions with the NPC deputies from Hubei, Xi showed his great concern for issues that matter to people's livelihoods in the epidemic-stricken province, such as employment, schooling, social welfare, poverty relief and the legitimate concerns of people who have suffered great losses due to the epidemic.

He also urged prompt efforts to strengthen public health and medical service systems to better protect people's lives.

"People" has become a key word in Xi's everyday work since he became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012. He said on various occasions that "the people's desire for a better life is the goal we strive to realize".

While taking part in a deliberation with NPC deputies from the delegation of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Friday, Xi particularly stressed adhering to "people first" in coordinating epidemic control and economic and social development.

Xi mentioned a story told by another NPC deputy from Hubei, Luo Jie－president of Taihe Hospital in the city of Shiyan－who told reporters how medical workers in his hospital spent 47 days saving an 87-year-old COVID-19 patient.

"About 10 medical workers meticulously took care of the patient for dozens of days, and finally saved the patient's life," he said. "I am really impressed."

Amid the spread of COVID-19, the CPC has, from the very beginning, stated clearly that people's lives and health are the top priority.

"We mobilized from around the nation the best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to send to Hubei and Wuhan, going all out to save lives," Xi said during the deliberations, adding that the oldest patient to be successfully treated is 108.

"We are willing to save lives at all costs. No matter how old the patients are and how serious their conditions have become, we never give up," he said.