Resuming Production with Pandemic Prevention

by Zhou Hanmin

Thanks to tireless nation- wide efforts， China has achieved major progress in COVID-19 prevention and control， paving a solid foundation for steering social and economic development back to the normal track. This year is decisive for China reaching the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eliminating poverty among all rural residents below the current poverty line and in all poor counties—pressing and challenging tasks considering domestic and global situations. So， devising macro plans that take all factors into consideration is tremendously important. While continuing regular COVID-19 control measures， China will accelerate the revival of the economy and society by stabilizing economic activity， confidence， and development trends.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic， Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered many important instructions and emphasized continuance of unremitting efforts on the prevention and control work while promoting work and production resumption in an orderly manner. He called for efforts to transform pressure into progress and crisis into opportunity while restoring normal work and life step by step. Xis instructions provided fundamental guidelines for restoring normal production and life with acute focus on long-term prevention and control of COVID-19.

As the virus swirls around the globe and a few cluster infections persist in some regions of China， epidemic prevention and control measures cannot be relaxed. Only a preventive system featuring an entire chain， multiple dimensions， and a closed loop can create a sound foundation for restoring social order and accelerating development.

The pandemic has unavoidably impacted the economy and society. Reports show that most companies have been affected by the epidemic， and operations continue to face many difficulties including capital pressure， slow restarts， and cancellation of orders， which have led to a significant reduction in corporate employment as well as income and profits expectations. After the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee convened a meeting on February 2 to arrange for the resumption of production and work， a series of policies were launched to promote the return to production and work.

In response to the high cost of labor reported by enterprises， the government introduced tax and fee reduction policies such as periodic reduction and exemption of corporate social insurance premiums. For financing difficulties that have shackled some enterprises， the government reduced the general and targeted deposit reserve ratio three times， which has effectively eased pressure on corporate capital chains. To address weak links in industrial chains as well as supply-demand imbalance， the government has accelerated coordinated production resumption of the entire industrial chain. The government has also provided differentiated subsidies for micro， small and medium-sized enterprises that are a major force to create jobs and provide livelihoods. A series of comprehensive and concrete measures have jumpstarted enterprises resumption of production. Since March， major economic indicators have been positive. In April， industrial production shifted from decline to increase and the drops of indicators in the service industry， consumption and investment narrowed.

Many enterprises across China have already returned to normal operations. As of April 10， more than 80 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises had resumed production. But some problems persist and demand solutions such as how to enhance enterprises sense of gain and cultivate new drivers for development. In-depth investigation and wide-eyed consideration are necessary to plug the gap between work resumption ratio and production resumption ratio， ensuring the reachability of designed capacity. For the short term， the authorities need to understand the needs and difficulties of enterprises during work and production resumption in a timely manner， seek more flexible support methods， and improve related support policies. For the long term， the government needs to constantly optimize the business environment and continue to streamline administration and delegate powers to unleash the maximum vitality of market players.