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Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for unity and perseverance in his New Year's address as the country battles another COVID-19 surge. His speech comes as Beijing has drastically loosened its long-held zero-COVID policy in recent weeks. The country has since seen an explosion of cases, leaving hospitals straining and mortuaries struggling to cope as fatalities mount.
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In the address, Xi praised China's medical professionals and grassroots officials for "bravely sticking to their posts through all the hardship."
"At present, the pandemic prevention and control has entered a new stage," he said in an upbeat tone. "Everyone is holding on with great fortitude, and the light of hope is right in front of us."
An estimated 250 million people were infected in the first 20 days of December and China is no longer is reporting asymptomatic cases. People who are using home rapid antigen tests are under no longer under obligation to report positive results.
Beijing has said it will not quarantine travelers upon arrival to its mainland starting Jan. 8 in another big step to unwind its "zero-COVID" lockdown policies.
Xi also used the New Year's message to speak enthusiastically about the country's economy, which he said grew at least 4.4% in 2022.
"The Chinese economy has remained the second largest in the world and enjoyed sound development," he proclaimed. "The Chinese economy enjoys great resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality."
His forecast comes as newly-released data shows that China's manufacturing activity shrank for the third straight month in December.
Referring to Taiwan, Xi said that people in both countries are "members of one and the same family" and expressed hope that they will work together to "jointly foster the lasting prosperity."
