China to crack down on measures preventing firms from resuming production: official

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/11 12:26:59

Photo: GT

China will strictly crack down on measures that prevent firms from resuming production, as more firms across China gradually return to work amid the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), senior Chinese officials said on Tuesday during a press conference in Beijing.

They noted that despite some short-term effects due to the delayed resumption of work, China’s economy and employment market will remain basically stable in the long term as consumption and investment are set to bounce back after the epidemic is under control. Further measures to stabilize employment are about to be released.

Thus far, Chinese companies except those in Central China’s Hubei Province are gradually returning to work and production, particularly in key areas such as medical supplies, energy, food, transportation and logistics, Cong Liang, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s economic planner, said at a press briefing of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Tuesday.

About 76 percent of factories that make masks have already resumed operations, while about 77 percent of firms making protective suits have restarted work, according to Cong. Also, 94.6 percent of grain production and processing firms have recommenced production and 57.8 percent of coal miners have resumed work.

Chinese officials noted that work resumption is critical for the production of medical supplies and daily necessities, but they also stressed the importance of restarting work in a manner that effectively prevents NCP from further spreading.

“We are not asking all companies in different regions to resume work at the same time. Different regions should arrange work resumption in an orderly manner based on NCP control,” Cong noted. But he said that medical and other necessary industries should resume work first, and other sectors could “wait for a while.”

Ou Xiaoli, a senior official with the NDRC, urged local authorities to help companies solve practical problems they encounter during the resumption of work, rather than setting barriers that prevent companies from reopening.

Many places have issued strict measures to restrict the entry and exit of personnel, and some have adopted a report system for the resumption of production. Some have even detained those who resumed production earlier – these practices should not be promoted, said Ou.

He stressed it is necessary for enterprises to strengthen their prevention and control work amid the outbreak of NCP, but that goal cannot be achieved by methods such as establishing approval conditions or providing thresholds for the resumption of work.

While acknowledging impact from delayed work resumption and difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, Chinese officials vowed to stabilize the job market amid the NCP outbreak.

“When the epidemic is eradicated, the currently subdued demand in consumption and investment will ease further, driving up demand in the labor market,” Zhang Ying, an official of China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said at the press briefing.

China will help ensure its workforce in key enterprises, offer subsidies to small, medium and micro firms that have a higher work resumption rate, strengthen supports for disadvantaged groups, and further promote online recruitment, according to Zhang.

Global Times

Posted in: ECONOMY

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