Xi Jinping at party meet: ‘China put people first in Covid-19 pandemic’

China on Sunday opens a twice-a-decade party conference at which leader Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term that breaks with recent precedent and establishes himself as arguably the most powerful Chinese politician since Mao Zedong.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sunday that China had put "the people and their lives first" when dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic as he spoke at the start of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, October 16. (AP)

Xi said China had "protected people's safety and health to the highest degree and achieved significant positive results in coordinating epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development".