The Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) held a meeting on Feb. 14 to listen to reports on researches pertaining to epidemic response, and to discuss and make future plans for epidemic prevention and control and policy research in order to serve the overall prevention and control work.

Ma Jiantang, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and chief of the Leading Group on Epidemic Response of DRC, chaired the meeting and delivered a speech.

The meeting emphasized that staff at all levels of DRC must take responsibility, make overall plans, and do a good job in epidemic prevention and control and policy research to provide assistance to the central government in the fight against epidemic, and in achieving this year's economic and social development goals.

The meeting emphasized that coordinating the epidemic prevention and control and policy consulting research is a big test for DRC staff. On the one hand, we must fulfill the responsibility for epidemic prevention and control while ensuring our staffs’ health and safety at work; on the other hand, we must focus on major research projects and ensure that all tasks are completed on time and with quality.

The meeting requested that research work should be further coordinated. The research tasks related to the epidemic are mainly to be undertaken by the Department of Macroeconomics, the Department of Social Development and the Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources and other research departments should focus their efforts on other major and important topics.

First, the research should focus on analyzing the impact of the outbreak on economic performance, and be more in-depth, accurate, and realistic to reflect the problem. Second, the research should take this epidemic response as an example to study the modernization of China's governance system and governance capabilities, and propose more feasible solutions to various shortcomings and deficiencies.