BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- As China makes major progress in epidemic prevention and control, more and more Chinese enterprises that resume production start to operate at full capacity.
Analysts believe that China's economic rally not only demonstrates the great achievements China has made in epidemic prevention and control, and social and economic development, but also brings hope to the beleaguered world economy.
-- Enterprises start to operate at full capacity
At Wafangdian Bearing Group in Dalian, North China's Liaoning Province, every production line and equipment is running, and every worker is busy at their own posts, working at full steam to finish orders received.
"Whilst adopting epidemic prevention measures, we have repeatedly communicated with our clients in Europe, America and Asia-Pacific to confirm our delivery schedule, and made products in three shifts," said Su Zhong'an, general manager of Liaoyang branch of Wangfangdian Bearing Group. The orders in April are still on the rise, he added.
Enterprises in Wuhan also made impressive progress in resuming production and achieving full capacity.
Five blast furnaces, nine revolving furnaces and production lines of molten iron, hot rolling and silicon steel are running at full steam in Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation (WISCO).
The latest data shows that the average daily output of molten iron, molten steel and rolled steel of WISCO has reached 38,800 tons, 39,900 tons and 38,000 tons respectively, fulfilling its production plans. Even during the epidemic prevention and control period, WISCO has maintained a contract delivery rate of over 95 percent.
Every line of work, from supermarkets to shopping malls, from manufacturing shops to computer facilities, is resuming work and production in a scientific, orderly manner. As this effort deepens, more and more Chinese enterprises are ramping up to "full capacity" again.
-- Policies provide strong support
Various policies have provided a strong support for the production resumption and full capacity achievement.
In March 2020, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has issued 18 specific measures in nine aspects, putting forward a systematic arrangement for the role of science and technology in supporting steady economic growth with a specific focus on technology-based SMEs and high-tech enterprises.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has guided the downward of loan interest rates, provided well-targeted support for refinancing and rediscount, increased bond financing support, and further lowered the required reserve ratio of small and medium-sized banks to provide ample liquidity for enterprises to resume production and reach full capacity.
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has introduced a series of measures including strengthening rural infrastructure construction, accelerating supply chain innovation and piloting, and guiding enterprises to implement specific prevention measures, in an effort to promote the recovery of commodity circulation.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, its impact on technology companies, especially on small and medium-sized ones, have been quite big, said Bao Xianhua, director with the Department of Research Commercialization and Regional Innovation of the MOST. But with their technological advantages and core competitiveness, these companies have shown strong resilience and good momentum of getting back to business, playing a leading role.
"Based on our survey in 21 provinces and cities, over 90 percent of high-tech enterprises have resumed work and production. Meanwhile, 83.3 percent of 30,000 technology SMEs in national economic and technological development zones have resumed work and production," said Bao.
According to Zhou Liang, vice chairman of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), by the end of February 2020, the balance of inclusive small and micro enterprises loans of 18 large and medium-sized commercial banks reached 5.55 trillion yuan, up 31.8 percent year on year. The average interest rate of loans was 5.22 percent, a decrease of 0.22 percentage points from last year.
According to incomplete statistics, the loan principal and interest of SMEs with deferred repayments currently amounted to more than 700 billion yuan, Zhou added.
-- Accelerate China's endogenous growth
No matter in fighting the epidemic, or in resuming work and production, or in achieving full capacity, the micro economic entities are becoming more and more dynamic, emerging as a powerful driver for putting the Chinese economy back on track.
China's remarkable results in epidemic control and the growing number of enterprises that have resumed work and production are all positive factors which will be transmitted to the market, according to a professor with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro of Brazil.
By analyzing a series of indicators, Nikolaus Lang, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, believed the Chinese economy is already staging a rapid recovery.
In the future, China will offer more support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, accelerate the release of endogenous growth momentum through various means such as subsidizing residents' consumption, speeding up the construction of new infrastructure, and encouraging innovation and upgrading of enterprises, said Cong Yi, a professor with the School of Economics of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics.
(Edited by Bao Nuomin with Xinhua Silk Road, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
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