China balancing COVID-19 control, economic growth

A balancing act

Frequent COVID-19 infection clusters have complicated the environment of the Chinese economy, which is already under the triple pressure of shrinking demand, supply impact and weakening expectations.

While presiding over the meeting on March 17, Xi said more effective measures should be taken to achieve maximum effect in prevention and control with minimum cost, and to reduce the impact on economic and social development as much as possible.

To complete the task, coordinated efforts on multiple economic fronts from farmland to factories are needed.

The central government has granted farmers 20 billion yuan (about $3.14 billion) of subsidies and unleashed 1 million tonnes of potash fertilizer reserves to reduce the impact of the epidemic on spring farming.

"Food security is among a country's most fundamental interests," Xi said in March at the annual "two sessions," vowing to keep the annual grain output above 650 million tonnes this year.

Local authorities have rolled out measures to reduce the burdens on businesses and guarantee disruption-free supply chains to bolster the industrial recovery.

In Suzhou, an East China manufacturing hub with over 12 million people, more than 99 percent of major industrial enterprises have resumed operations amid ongoing epidemic control measures, an example of striking a balance between containing the virus and supporting the economy.

The broader economy registered a sound recovery in the first two months of this year, with upbeat readings in major indicators, including industrial output and retail sales.

As the economic outlook stabilizes, foreign businesses remain optimistic. Shanghai, a city with over 60,000 foreign-funded firms, reported a faster pace in attracting exhibitors for the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) this year.

While some traditional sectors have been hit hard by COVID-19, innovation-powered industries are burgeoning.

In the first two months, the value-added industrial output of the high-tech manufacturing sector jumped 14.4 percent year on year, 6.9 percentage points faster than the average for all industries.

Two years ago, during an inspection tour in East China's Zhejiang province, Xi encouraged enterprises to actively seize the opportunity for technological innovation and industrial upgrading.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis but it also, in a way, breeds new opportunities," Xi said at a meeting with national political advisors from the economic sector during the "two sessions" in 2020.