Companies key in COVID-19 fight, growth recovery

Other central SOEs, such as China Eastern Airlines, China North Industries Group Corp, China State Construction Engineering Corp, China General Technology Group and China Electronics Corp, have reported a surge in service and project operations, as well as high-volume manufacturing of masks and protective clothing.

To prevent financial losses caused by the outbreak in other countries, many central SOEs have shifted a part of their work from newly signed overseas infrastructure and manufacturing projects back to plants in China to ensure activity continues, according to the SASAC.

Kevin Xu, chairman of the board at Beijing-headquartered MEBO Group, a manufacturer of regenerative medicine for burns, wounds and ulcers that supplies markets in more than 73 countries and regions, said in addition to supporting China's battle to contain the virus in Hubei province, the company also worked with the Clinton Foundation of the United States in April to establish the COVID-19 Student Action Fund.

The project aims to provide seed funding for students around the world with innovative and creative ideas to improve methods for battling the novel coronavirus.

Wineries in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region are offering both incentives and supplies to medical staff who had worked on the front lines of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Party committee of the Ningxia Helan Mountains East Foothill Wine Association has circulated a proposal to all wineries in the region to offer a free holiday for the medical staff around the country who have been involved in the epidemic fight in Hubei province.

"The wines are for the medical staff to open when they finally put their masks down and celebrate their victory over the epidemic. It is our social duty and responsibility as Chinese entities, companies and just as human beings, to take good care of the medical staff who take care of patients every day," said Christelle Chene, the French director of the Ningxia Helan Mountains East Foothill Wine Education Institute.

Chene, a French woman who has been living in China for 10 years, decided to settle down permanently in the region last year, as she saw a greater and meaningful cause behind the business where local companies work together to help build and develop society and change people's lives for the better.

Kuang Ming, founder and CEO of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-based Zhiyun Jiankang Health Consulting, a digital healthcare service provider, said businesses should shoulder more social responsibilities and by working together, China's economy will eventually recover, turning what was a crisis into a bright new opportunity.

For Valdemar Rodrigues Augusto Tchipenhe, a field-applied scientist from China's genomics sequencing company BGI Genomics Huo-Yan Laboratory in Africa, studying in China and bringing Chinese biotech back to serve Africa gives him a feeling of extra responsibilities on his shoulders.

Tchipenhe, who comes from Angola and has been in China for six years, said BGI has helped three African countries of Gabon, Togo, and Benin install biological nucleic acid laboratories and provided workflow training to local lab technicians to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He was selected to be part of a team for the Huo-Yan Project for the screening and testing of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, for both present and future needs.

"Installing devices, building up labs, training local technicians, and dealing with all the problems that may occur in the process, the things I do here may look laborious, but I do believe that I'm doing good for the benefit of the African people, fighting against the coronavirus," he said.

The event on Friday was the 13th Vision China event since its launch in 2018. Each event has featured global opinion leaders invited to discuss Chinese topics of international significance.