BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- With the positive trend of containing the outbreak of novel coronavirus illness (COVID-19), China is meticulously expanding business operations with a precise approach that attaches different priorities to regions in light of their health risks.
A total of 11 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday outside Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak, while 24 provincial-level regions didn't report newly confirmed cases, according to the National Health Commission Monday.
As more provincial-level regions have been reporting no newly confirmed cases for longer streaks, more local governments are starting to lower their emergency response to fast-track the restoration of economic and social order.
While high-risk regions still need to be fully committed to epidemic prevention and control, regions with relatively low risks are encouraged to focus on forestalling cases brought in from elsewhere and comprehensively restoring the order of production and life, said a meeting Sunday.
Coastal province Fujian has divided the 88 cities and counties into four groups, ranging from regions with over ten infections to regions with none, and adopted differentiated measures to better fight the outbreak and mitigate the impact on the economy.
Changting County in Fujian, for instance, which has no confirmed cases of infection, has seen most of the key enterprises resume production.
The country has pledged efforts such as arranging customized trains for migrant workers, smoothing the traffic, enhancing credit support and alleviating social security burden on employers to bring enterprises back on track.
Shanghai Municipality has rolled out 28 policies to provide targeted fiscal support, tax and fee cuts, as well as epidemic-prevention supplies for local enterprises, ferrying them through rough patches.
Foreign companies will also benefit from the supportive policies and be treated on the same footing as other types of enterprises, said Xu Wei, spokesperson for the Shanghai municipal government.
The operation resumption rate of 51,000 foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai is nearly 70 percent, while that of the regional headquarters of 217 multinational companies is as high as 93 percent.
Wyeth Nutrition, a Sino-U.S. joint venture with its headquarter in Shanghai, is operating at its capacity to supply infant formula in China.
"The local commerce department has built a green channel for us, ensuring smooth operation of our supply chains and product delivery in the Yangtze River Delta," said Cao Jingheng, vice president of the company.
Foreign firms and firms are high on the agenda of Chinese government agencies when formulating preferential policies.
The Ministry of Commerce has promised to strengthen services and guarantees to foreign-funded enterprises while the General Administration of Customs vowed efforts to optimize the port business environment and promote reciprocal market opening up.
Now with the country gradually heading back to work, many are confident that the potential economic blow brought by the national production halt is expected to be only a short-term, one-off hit against China's solid economic foundation.
The epidemic might disturb economic activities in the first quarter of this year, but the economy is likely to steady shortly after the epidemic is contained, as the unleashing of pent-up demands will make up for previous weak economic performance, said Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Saturday that she expects China's economy to "return to normal in the second quarter" of 2020.
"As a result, the impact on the world economy would be relatively minor and short-lived," Georgieva said.
