Chinese President Xi Jinping held phone talks with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday on the coronavirus epidemic.

Xi expressed his gratitude to Guterres for the UN chief's support for China's epidemic prevention and control efforts.

Thanks to hard work, the situation in Hubei Province and the city of Wuhan, the epicenters of the outbreak, has shown positive changes with important progress, Xi said, promising detailed steps to promote social and economic development in the next step.

During the phone conversation, Xi expressed confidence that the Chinese people will eventually conquer the novel coronavirus.