File photo shows the medical graduates of the Tibet University throwing mortarboards into the air while taking photos. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students at Tibet University to follow the example of medical workers on the front line of the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic and serve the people, especially those in underprivileged areas.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in a letter on Friday to the students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing.

He said he was pleased to know that the students have strengthened their determination to dedicate themselves to medical and healthcare services in the Tibet autonomous region while practicing basic clinical skills during their internship.

Underlining that doctors are the defenders of people's health, Xi said the military and civilian angels in white at the front line of the epidemic are interpreting the spirit of lifesaving with their deeds.

He said he believed that the students will take the front-line medical workers as examples and strive to be good doctors that the Party and people can rely on.

He urged the students to cherish the time of study and develop capability and skills so that they can go to places where they are most needed by the people and serve them with professional skill and kindheartedness after graduation.

As the Tibetan New Year falls on Monday, Xi also extended in the letter holiday greetings and good wishes to the students and people of all ethnic groups in Tibet.

In June 2019, 17 undergraduates majoring in clinical medicine at Tibet University started an 11-month clinical practice at Shougang Hospital under a Peking University Health Science Center program.

Recently, they wrote a letter to Xi to share their feelings and advances made during the internship.

In their letter, the students expressed their gratitude to the Party and country, as well as their determination to serve the motherland and return to their hometowns with the skills they have learned.