A resilient China believes it is time to crank up the economy
BEIJING:Chinese President Xi Jinping’s well-choreographed visit to Wuhan on Tuesday sent out two clear messages: the outbreak had turned a corner in China and it was time to crank up the economy.
In between meeting front line medics, local residents and officials, Xi made a proclamation: the epidemic will not affect the fundamentals of China’s long-term economic development.
Xi called for firm and meticulous implementation of supporting policies and for adopting targeted measures to assist enterprises, stabilise employment and create more jobs. Enterprises and employment - two aspects of China’s $14 trillion economy were hit badly by the infection.
Within 24 hours of Xi’s visit, the worst-hit Hubei province government allowed Wuhan businesses involved in providing daily necessities, preventing and controlling the epidemic, or operating public utilities to resume work and production immediately - the first easing of tight restrictions in place since January 23.
The city of 11 million has been in lockdown, but Xi’s visit signalled the tide was turning in the government’s favour as it fights to contain a virus that as of Tuesday had infected 80,778 people in China and killed 3,158.
Wuhan firms that are key to “global industrial chains” may do so as well, after getting approval, the government said.
Soon after Xi’s Wuhan visit, news agency Xinhua released a news report on factories gradually resuming work in China.
“China has all the industrial categories classified by the UN... Though the novel coronavirus outbreak has slowed the humming of the factories for a while, production has been resuming across the country as the outbreak is levelling off to ensure the smooth operation of the global supply chain,” the report said.
It’s a remarkable achievement for companies to resume work in a city that has been ravaged by the pathogen.
But Xi knows that the path to economic rejuvenation for the world’s second-largest economy will be tough. Experts say signs of a better economy are visible on the horizon. “Only six weeks after the initial outbreak, China appears to be in the early stages of recovery,” the Harvard Business Review said in an insight piece on Tuesday.