President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China was sure of defeating a “devil” coronavirus that has killed 106 people, spread across the world and rattled financial markets.

Yet despite his confidence, international alarm was rising.

From France to Japan, governments were organizing evacuations, while Hong Kong – scene of anti-China unrest for months – planned to suspend rail and ferry links with the mainland.

Among countries pulling nationals out of Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people where the outbreak started, the United States’ Embassy in Beijing said a chartered plane would pick up its consular staff on Wednesday.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Xi met in Beijing to discuss how to protect Chinese and foreigners in areas affected by the virus and “possible” evacuation alternatives, a WHO spokesman said.

“The virus is a devil and we cannot let the devil hide,” state television quoted Xi as saying.

“China will strengthen international cooperation and welcomes the WHO participation in virus prevention … China is confident of winning the battle against the virus.”

Investors are fretting about the impact on the world’s second-biggest economy amid travel bans and an extended Lunar New Year holiday. Global stocks fell again, China’s yuan currency dipped to its weakest in 2020, and oil prices hit three-month lows.

OPEC wants to extend oil output cuts until at least June, with the possibility of deeper reductions if demand in China is significantly impacted, sources at the producers’ group said. Read more

Read also: Investigators seek answers to chopper crash as NBA star, eight others mourned

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China was sure of defeating a “devil” coronavirus that has killed 106 people, spread across the world and rattled financial markets.

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China was sure of defeating a “devil” coronavirus that has killed 106 people, spread across the world and rattled financial markets.