China Rallies People to Return to Work While Battling Virus
China’s leadership has started rallying people to get back to work. This is as a country continues to battle with the coronavirus outbreak. There have been city-wide lockdowns and quarantines in some regions.
China’s President- Xi Jiping, said this was both a crisis and a big test for them. He said it at a Sunday meeting in Beijing, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
He said the government was making efforts to cure people, reduce death rates, safeguard social stability, and strengthen China’s emergency medical supplies and daily necessities.
Since the end of January, the world’s second-largest economy experienced a shut down. Businesses, factories, and schools stopped working to limit the spread of coronavirus. The outbreak has killed close to 2,600 and infected more than 77,000 people in Mainland so far.
The extended Lunar new year holiday has affected the global supply chain and dented the overall market sentiment. It has also spurred global companies to diversify their supply chains further away from China.
According to Xinhua, Jinping said the outbreak’s impact on China’s economy and social development was temporary and manageable. But it would deal a relatively big blow in the short term.
As China pulls out all stops to contain the virus, it’s keen to revise its vast industry and economic machinery. China’s economy has been running at a breakneck pace for the last forty years. Moreover, it contributes to the Communist nation’s social stability.
Getting Workers Back to Work
Xi made a speech calling for businesses to get back to work and emphasized on an orderly resumption. Each region will adopt a “precise approach” based on local health risks.
Stakes are high as the virus (recently named COVID-19) set to batter China’s first-quarter economic growth and challenge China’s goal to eradicate poverty by 2020.
It could also affect the employment of fresh college graduates and hinder critical sowing activities for Agriculture in spring.
On Monday, officials at China’s National Development and Reform Commission said the impact of the new coronavirus on the economy was rather significant and hit employment.
You Jun, the assistant minister for human resources and social security, said the difficulty for agriculture workers and college graduates will become significant.
China’s leadership says that some businesses are already getting up to speed. On Monday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the rate of resumption of work for the iron and steel industry was at 67.4%. Recovery for nonferrous metals was 86.3%. Food processing was back at more than 70%, and coal mining was back at 76%.
