Xi Jinping makes a rare appearance. Xi Jinping, China’s powerful but recently aloof leader, toured several public places in Beijing on Monday afternoon to oversee efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to a flurry of reports in the state media. Mr. Xi, whose most recent public appearance came during a meeting with Cambodia’s prime minister last week, traveled first to a neighborhood roughly five miles north of his residence near the Forbidden City and toured a local government office. He later visited a city hospital, where he took part in a video conference with officials and workers at a hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak more than 600 miles to the south. China Central Television and the Xinhua news agency both said Mr. Xi’s goal was to access the “front line” of Beijing’s efforts to prevent an epidemic and ensure the adequate supply of “basic necessities.” They later reported that he expressed his concern for all medical workers on the front lines.

Source: New York Times February 10, 2020 05:11 UTC