Ch i n a ' s e c o n o m y experienced a deep

contract ion in the f irs t quarter due to disruptions c a u s e d b y t h e n o v e l coronavirus outbreak, but major economic indicators improved substant ial ly in March, indicating the country 's recovery has gained a firmer footing, officials and economists said on April 17.

Supportive government policies are expected to intensify in the coming quarters to expand domestic demand by s t imulat ing investment and consumption as the global spread of the virus may bring more headwinds to the world's second-largest economy.

China's GDP in the first quarter contracted by 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The outbreak created a severe blow to the country's

economy in the first quarter, b u t m a j o r e c o n o m i c indicators rebounded in March and the country's economic performance will improve further in the second quarter, NBS spokesman Mao Shengyong said at a news conference in Beijing on April 17.

The government will step up policy support to expand domestic demand by increasing effective investment and releasing consumption potential. More tax relief and financial aid will be offered to businesses t o h e l p t h e m r e s u m e production and make it through the difficult times, Mao said.

T h e C h i n e s e s t o c k market rose on April 17 with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up by 0.66 percent to close at 2,838.49 points as the first-quarter e c o n o m i c c o n t r a c t i o n was broadly in line with

investors' expectations.L i a n P i n g , c h i e f

e c o n o m i s t a t Z h i x i n I n v e s t m e n t , s a i d t h e g o v e r n m e n t n e e d s t o intensify policy support to prevent the economy from suffering a second wave of blows from the global economic downturn and possible collapse of external demand.

Ch inese compan ie s , i n c l u d i n g e x p o r t e r s , have seen an inc rease i n c a n c e l l a t i o n s o f orders. While most large enterprises have resumed production, according to NBS calculations, many smal le r companies a re still struggling to resume work under rising financial d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d l a b o r shortages.

S teven Zhang, ch ie f e c o n o m i s t a t M o r g a n Stanley Huaxin Securities, said the government will continue to increase fiscal

spending by issuing special treasury bonds and raising the budget deficit ratio to provide more financing for major investment projects.

Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will coordinate with the proactive fiscal policy to continue injecting more liquidity in the financial market and cutting interest rates to lower business financing cost, Zhang said.

T h e c o u n t r y ' s t o t a l financing reached a record level of 5.2 trillion yuan ($735 billion) in March, increasing 11.5 percent year-on-year, which was the fastest single-month growth in history. Credit growth is a positive sign that the Chinese economy i s r ecove r ing a s more companies are borrowing to facilitate their production resumption, economists said.

(Collated from CGTN, Xinhua, China Daily )

english.yunnan.cnThe Pioneer Sunday, October 16, 2016YUNNAN DAILY PRESS GROUP english.yunnan.cnThe Pioneer Sunday, October 16, 2016YUNNAN DAILY PRESS GROUPYUNNAN DAILY PRESS GROUP The Pioneer Vol.134 Wednesday, April 29, 2020

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China's economy rebounding after drop

XI'S REMARKS

We need to jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains stable. What China will do in this regard is to increase its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients, daily necessities, and anti-epidemic and other supplies to the international market.

—— Excerpt from Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech on G20 Extraordinary

Virtual Leaders' Summit on COVID-19

FOCUS

Sun Yingjie (right), vice government-head of South Yunnan's Ning'er County, sold local produce during a livestreaming on April 6. Photo by Meng Zhigang

OPINION

No major exodus of foreign capital expected

FIGHTTING COVID-19

China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine enters 2nd-phase clinical trial

China 's inac t iva ted COVID-19 vaccine

entered the second phase of clinical trial on April 24, according to its developers.

The inactivated vaccine developed by Wuhan Institute o f Bio log ica l Produc ts under the China National P h a r m a c e u t i c a l G r o u p (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences started its clinical trial on April 12.

Sinopharm said in an announcement that 96 persons in three age groups have received the vaccine in the first phase of clinical trial as of April 23. The vaccine has shown good safety so far and vaccine receivers are still under observation.

The randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of the inactivated vaccine are conducted in Jiaozuo, central China's Henan Province, and the second phase of clinical trial will focus on

the vaccination procedure, according to Sinopharm.

Both the first and the second phases of clinical trials of the vaccine have been approved by the National Medical Products Administration through a green channel.

Sinopharm said the vaccine will also go through the third phase of the clinical trial, and it may take about one year to complete the clinical trial and finally reach the conclusion on the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

The Phase I trial aimed to evaluate the safety and immunization of the vaccine, while the Phase II and III will assess its effectiveness, a Beijing-based immunology expert who asked to remain anonymous told the Global Times.

China has approved three COVID-19 vaccine candidates f o r c l i n i c a l t r i a l s . A n adenovirus vector vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world that has entered the

second phase of clinical trial. (Colloated from Xinhua-CGTN, Global Times)

According to the World H e a l t h O rg a n i z a t i o n , inactivated vaccines are made from microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, other) that have been killed through physical or chemical processes. After immunization, the vaccine antigens cannot replicate in the vaccinated person or cause disease.

Chinese scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines via five approaches – inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors.

HEALTH TIPS

When to wash your handsAs t h e w o r l d

i s f i g h t i n g Covid-19 pandemic, how to prevent from being infected is very important for every one of us. Washing hands, wearing masks, keeping social distance…has proved effect ive in prevention and control of the spread of the virus. From this issue on, we begin to introduce some health tips for our readers. Today, let’s come to “When to wash hands”.

Wash your hands with soap or alcohol-based hand rub and running water when you have the following situations:

● After coughing or sneezing● When caring for the sick● Before, during and after you prepare food● Before eating● After toilet use● When hands are visibly dirty● After handling animals or animal waste● When returning home● After touching trash or garbage

C h i n a ' s e l e c t r i c i t y consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, dropped 4.2 percent year on year in March, slower than a decline of 10.1-percent in February, and achieved positive growth rate in the first half of April.

The rail freight volume, also an indicator of broad economic activity, amounted to 346 million tons in March, rising 4.5 percent from a month earlier according to the China Railway Corporation.

China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 52 in March — up 16.3 percentage points from the previous month — showing significant positive changes in production and business operations month-over-month.

E-COMMERCE

Officials, scholars join livestream

e-commerce to help farmers

Have you ever seen officials or professors

selling products online? Recently, to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on rural sectors, many Yunnan county-heads and scholars, with their fame and influence, joined livestream e-commerce in a bid to help sell quality produce in the province.

“The Jinning flowers are blooming. Don’t let them wait you too long,” on March 8, Xu Bo, head of the government of central Yunnan’s Jinning District, helped local farmers sell flowers on Pinduoduo’s livestreaming platform. He talked with thousands of online viewers and helped sell 356,000 bunches of flowers.

A t t r ac t i ng 650 ,000 online viewers and selling 80 tons of papaya…the achievement made by Deng Rui, the government head of southeast Yunnan’s Hekou County, in her livestreaming on Pinduoduo, is also worth-mentioning. According to data released by the government, the papaya planting area in Hekou reaches 1,647 acres.

“Group buying+l ive

streaming” is a new concept of development,” said Di Lake, vice-director of Pinduoduo's in-house research institute, adding that Hekou boasts natural and policy advantages. “The livestreaming of the county head is a kind of demonstration for farmers and businessmen, which will provide new development concept and opportunities for the county which borders Vietnam.”

Besides officials, scholars also joined the rank of live-streaming anchors. On April 7, Zhu Youyong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, sold online the potatoes grown in southwest Yunnan’s Lancang County. In just half an hour, one million netizens viewed his live show, and in one hour, 25 tons of potatoes sold.

Currently, online sales have increasingly evolved into a new economy model. As the 5G era comes, new technology will make the live streaming more smooth and immersive. And customers wil l surely enjoy more choices and better experiences in online shopping.

(Staff reporters)

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Homestay development brings benefits to Tibetans

The Jiangpo Village, h i d d e n i n t h e

Me i l i Snow Moun ta in and boasting intoxicating views, is located in Foshan Township, Deqing County i n n o r t h e a s t Yu n n a n ' s Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. However, the villagers here had lived in poverty for a long time due to the poor traffic conditions.

Several years ago, the villagers cultivated olive groves and bred yaks and goats, while also developing

rural tourism, in a bid to fight poverty.

In 2017, a group of businessmen from east China's Guangdong province visited the village to seek investment opportunities. In 2018, the Meli Xueda Lake Development Company, a joint venture between the Guangdong businessmen and local government and vi l lages, was set up to develop homestay tourism. The revenues are spl i t evenly between the company

and the villagers. Sina Dingzhu, a 51-year-

old local Tibetan, are among the first villagers joining the homestay tourism. In 2019, the homestay business brought him an income of 100,000 yuan.

Sina Dingzhu set an good example for other villagers who then follow him to bui ld homestay hotels to receive tourists. Now the per capita income of Jiangpo Village reached 26,600 yuan. (Xinhua)

IN-PICS

Lakeside town sees tourism revive

Located at the lakeside of Erhai, west Yunnan’s Dali, the Shuanglang Ancient Town is a popular tourist destination in China. Since it was reopened to tourists on March 9, Shuanglang has adopted measures to control the flow of tourists. The daily tourist flow is contained at 50% of the capacity of the town. Before entering and leaving the town, tourists need to scan the registration QR code, and also the health reporting QR code at the entrance. And disinfection is carried out twice a day in the scenic area. Now all the inns and restaurants in Shuanglang have opened to tourists. Photo by Yang Zheng

ECOLOGY

Wang Zhaorong：Protecting wild animals is protecting our humans

Editor's note: Dubbed “ K i n g d o m o f

Animals” and “Kingdom of Plants”, Yunnan province is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots with the richest species diversity. In recent years, the province has made consistent efforts in protecting wild animals and their living environment.

“I’ll devote my whole life to protecting black-necked cranes. They and my wife are like the two wings of my life. Without any one

of them, I won’t fly high, ” Wang Zhaorong, one of the founders of the Zhaotong Volunteers Associat ion for Protecting Black-neck Cranes(ZVAPBC), said frankly during a recent interview with our reporters.

Since the association was set up in 1998, Wang has voluntarily spent over 9,000 hours protecting black-necked cranes.

In early 1998, Wang was appointed as the assistant to the government head of

Dashanbao Township in northeast Yunnan's Zhaotong City. Later on, he met Mr. Sun Dehui, an eco-photographer who had committed himself to the protection of black-necked cranes for years. “Sun was just like a teacher. I learned from him knowledge about the cranes and their harsh living conditions. I was moved by his devotions and decided to join hands with him to protect the birds,” said Wang.

To pool more efforts and wisdoms to protect the

birds, Sun initiated the set-up of a non-governmental o r g a n i z a t i o n . A n d i n December 1998, the ZVAPBC was founded. In 22 years, the number of its members has grown to 510. They are civil servants, teachers, journalists, authors, students, farmers and businesspeople.

I n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 3 , Dashanbao was listed as a national nature reserve by the State Council. Each year, more than 1,400 black-necked cranes winter there,

along with more than ten thousand birds of other species like bar-headed geese, mal lards , ruddy shelducks and pochards.

“We have only one earth where the grass, trees, birds and beasts live freely in nature. And they are the hosts of the earth like our human beings. Thus, protecting wild animals is protecting ourselves,” Wang believed the nature will repay human beings for our protection efforts. (Zu Hongbing)

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has had an

impact on foreign-funded companies operating in China, the possible withdrawal of some United States and Japanese companies will not crash the country's economy as supportive government policies, market scale and an advanced industrial supply chain are sufficient.

Based on its developing strength, China has three trump cards that allow it to remain competitive in attracting global investment from a long-term perspective.

First of all, consider China's appealing domestic market.

D u e t o C h i n a ' s 4 0 0 mi l l ion midd le - income consumers, many US and Japanese companies will definitely regret it if they leave the Chinese market and its well-developed supply and industrial chains. The result for many of them is predicable：they will return to China again for sure.

After the novel coronavirus outbreak, China will offer more favorable policies to win over new foreign investment and try to maintain its current stock of foreign investment and design new growth points in areas such as 5G, extra-high voltage and the internet of things. Backed by these factors, the Chinese economy will continue to grow in the coming decades and China will become the world's largest consumer market. Therefore, we are ful ly confident about these facts and more companies from Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea will continue to value this fast-developing

market.

The second is China's continued efforts to create a more complete business environment.

In addit ion to market opportunities, corporate investment also values the business environment and whether foreign investors' rights and market access can be treated equally in a foreign country. China has been constantly improving i t s b u s i n e s s a n d l e g a l environment to facilitate the growth of global companies, as wel l as acce lera t ing innova t ion and cu t t ing administrative barriers in its pilot free trade zones across the country.

A negative list indicates a r e a s w h e r e f o r e i g n investment is prohibited or restricted. When China released its first negative l ist in 2013, there were more than 190 measures to restrict and prohibit foreign investment in a number of industries. Now there are only 37 measures left on the list. For the next step, China should authorize more access to the services sector and al low more foreign companies to enter sectors such as pension services, f inancial and insurance industries without setting restrictions on the proportion of equity.

I n 2 0 1 9 , C h i n a w a s ranked 31st in the World B a n k G r o u p ' s g l o b a l business climate ranking, up from 46th in 2018 and 78th in 2017. The US-based mult i lateral lender also ranked China among the top 10 best improvers for a second consecutive year.

The third is China's open, stable and well-developed industr ia l and supply chains.

China must separately develop open, stable and safe industrial and supply chains in both international and domestic markets to prevent unexpected risks. If these two chains are successfully built, China will be able to become a driving force behind the recovery of the global economy.

B e c a u s e t h e w o r l d h a s e n t e r e d t h e e r a o f globalization, multinationals will remain optimistic about China, and there won't be large-scale withdrawal of FDI from the market despite some US or Japanese companies' withdrawing parts of factories to either their home markets or to other parts of the world.

China has been recovering more steadily than other countries from the pandemic. The country will see more FDI inflows in sectors like medical products, pharmaceuticals and high-tech industries over the next several years.

A p a r t f r o m C h i n a ' s i m p r o v e d b u s i n e s s environment dominated by the market economy, the nation's comprehensive advantages based on efficiency, labor quality, resources and digital and physical infrastructure will continue to help the nation attract investment f rom g loba l companies over the long term. (By Wei Jianguo who is former vice-minister of commerce and vice-chairman of Beijing-based China Center for International Economic Exchanges. This article was originally published on China Daily and was editied for use here.)