Ready to Resume Work

Sanlian Life Week Issue 9, 2020

The worst days of the novel coronavirus epidemic in China are drawing to an end as the Chinese health authorities announced on March 12 that the peak of the outbreak was over.

As the curbs put in place to combat the epidemic have succeeded on that front, another battlefield, a pausing economy, remains to be fully restarted. A host of industries, handicapped by large-scale quarantine of personnel and logistical disruption due to the epidemic, are dealing with the issue of deceleration or even standstill. As the normal production has yet to be restored, the impact of the epidemic on the economy will soon spread from particular sectors including tourism and catering to every other industry. At that time, the entire nation, enterprises, and individuals will feel the pain brought by an economic slowdown.

On the one hand, it is necessary to restrict the movement of the people to tame the epidemic and guard against a rebound. On the other hand, those coming back home during the Spring Festival holiday need to return to their jobs as soon as possible to invigorate the economy. The two goals seem to be naturally at odds with one another. It is imperative to strike a balance between the two contradictory targets.

In fact, resuming work and production has already been placed on the agenda days ago when China was gripped by the tense epidemic situation. At a meeting in early February, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China demanded support to the resumption of business and production on the premise that the epidemic prevention and control measures be in good place. As the epidemic is curbed, more focuse is being shifted to the resumption of work and production.