Hardship reveals friends
The battle against a dangerous viral epidemic and its effect on China’s economy
“World Bank, IMF, economists confident of China’s economy
SINCE THE outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, acting with a high sense of responsibility to Chinese people’s health as well as global public health security, the Chinese government has taken the most comprehensive and strict prevention and control measures against the epidemic.
The entire Chinese people, while mourning those who died in the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, have been mobilised to battle the epidemic.
At this critical time, most countries in the world appreciate and support China’s efforts to fight the novel coronavirus pneumonia.
African governments and people, South Africa in particular, expressed sincere support to China through various means. Hardship reveals true friendship. China-Africa and China-South Africa friendship have withstood all tests.
Unfortunately, apart from the novel coronavirus, the Chinese government and people also have to fight against the virus of ideology and Cold War mentality.
While the Chinese government and people are combating the epidemic, certain politicians in the US have spared no efforts in their defamatory attacks against China out of malicious motives to disrupt China’s stability and development, and some even gloat at the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in China and dream of profiting from it.
For many years, China has been the most powerful locomotive for the world’s economy. Last year, China’s GDP accounted for 16% of the world’s total, and contributed to 30% of global economic growth.
In a highly interdependent and integrated international economy, the epidemic will not only exert a negative impact on China’s economy, but will also inevitably affect the economic growth of the whole world.
Therefore, strengthening international cooperation is crucial to prevail against the epidemic at the earliest possible time, and bring the global economy back on the track of sound development.
Some countries, the US in particular, have inappropriately overreacted and taken such excessive steps as imposing a travel ban on Chinese travellers, or suspending flights with China, which runs counter to WHO advice.
These overreactions, instead of helping to fight the epidemic, will exacerbate panic among the public, gravely disrupt international cooperation and the international air transportation market.
As of February 6, the Chinese government had allocated 66.74 billion yuan (R142bn) of epidemic prevention and control funds to fight the epidemic, and put in place a series of financial and tax support measures including reducing financial guarantee and re-guarantee costs for epidemic-affected enterprises.
The People’s Bank of China has set up a 300bn yuan Special Refinancing Scheme with preferential interest rates to strengthen the financial support for key medical enterprises and living materials-related industries.
At the same time, the Chinese government has been well equipped with regulatory tools to stabilise the market, and has enough policy tools to cope with the downward pressure of the economy.
The performance of financial markets shows investors’ confidence in the Chinese government’s battle against epidemic and future economic growth.
What is more, as the second biggest economy in the world, the enormous development of China over the past 71 years has laid a solid institutional and material foundation for China’s efficient and effective response to massive emergencies such as novel coronavirus pneumonia, as well as steady economic growth in 2020.
With 1.4 billion total population, China has the largest middle-income group and the fastest-growing consumer market in the world.
Therefore, China is fully confident of overcoming the epidemic, and the fundamentals of China’s long-term sound and high-quality economic growth will not be changed by this short-term epidemic. The World Bank, IMF, and well-known economists have expressed confidence in China’s economic prospects.
A new dynamism has emerged in the service sector, including the rapid growth of online retail, online medical, online games, logistics and express delivery, which is expected to offset a considerable part of the losses in the tertiary industry.
Although 2020 started with a rough opening, it is the decisive year to achieve China’s first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Lin is the Chinese Consul-General in Cape Town