XI STRESSES KEY ROLE OF G20

Members of the G20 should enhance their coordination in macroeconomic policies to prevent a global recession resulting from the novel coronavirus outbreak, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remark while delivering a speech during the G20 Extraordinary Leaders' Summit on COVID-19. The summit, in the form of a videoconference, is the first of its kind under the G20 framework.

Noting that novel coronavirus pneumonia is spreading around the world, Xi said that the international community should boost its confidence, make joint efforts and enhance international cooperation to strive for victory in mankind's battle against the pandemic.

The G20 countries should implement powerful and effective fiscal and monetary policies, enhance coordination on financial supervision and jointly maintain the stability of the global industrial chain, he said.

Xi pledged that China will make greater efforts to supply medicine, daily necessities and disease prevention materials to the global market.

In order to make a contribution to stabilizing the global economy, he said, China will continue to carry out a proactive fiscal policy and stable monetary policy, promote reform and opening-up steadily, ease market access, improve the business environment, increase imports and expand outbound investment.

The president called on G20 members to take joint measures, including reducing tariffs, removing trade barriers and promoting free trade, to send a strong signal to boost the global economy.

China, which upholds the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, would like to share its experience in disease prevention and control with other countries, launch joint research and development of medicines and vaccines, and offer as much assistance as possible to countries that are affected by the disease, Xi said.

The virus knows no borders and the epidemic is the common enemy of all, Xi said, adding that the international community should join forces to build a joint prevention and control network.

China has established an online knowledge center on the prevention and control of novel coronavirus pneumonia, and the center is open to all countries, he added.

China supports the World Health Organization playing a leading role in setting scientific prevention and control measures and preventing the cross-border spread of the disease, Xi said.

The G20 members should enhance the sharing of information on disease prevention and control, promote comprehensive and effective methods for disease prevention and control and hold high-level meetings on global public health, he said.

Xi said that China will remember and cherish the friendship shown when it was in difficulty and some other countries offered sincere help and support.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, said that the special summit is the most important multilateral event since the outbreak of the disease because the pandemic has led to a global public health crisis unprecedented in the past century.

PRESIDENT PROMISES FULL SUPPORT FOR WHO

China will work with the World Health Organization and international community to uphold global public health security and continue to provide support for the international community in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remark in a reply letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who wrote to him on March 17.

In the letter to Tedros, Xi said he appreciated the WHO chief's efforts to advance the global battle against the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak and the organization's close cooperation with China on stemming the contagion's spread.

Saying that the epidemic control situation in China has been continuously improving and the momentum for resuming production and normal daily life keeps growing, Xi said the country's efforts to consolidate epidemic control and socioeconomic development have produced positive results.

The country will accurately adjust its priorities and measures in line with the changes to the situation both at home and abroad to ensure it wins the people's war against the epidemic, he said.

Xi expressed firm support for Tedros and the WHO in playing a leading role in international cooperation and said China has supported the international efforts to curb the virus and has provided aid to international organizations including the WHO, as well as more than 80 countries. It will continue to lend a helping hand to the rest of the world to the best of its ability, he added.

Saying the pandemic again demonstrates that mankind is a community of a shared future, Xi underlined the need for international society to help each other at this trying time.

In his letter to Xi, Tedros commended China's incredible efforts to curb the epidemic under the leadership of Xi, and said it was the strong resolve of the Chinese government and the devotion and sacrifice of the Chinese people that enabled the country to respond to the epidemic promptly and comprehensively.

China has shown the world that the epidemic's progression can be changed, he said.

Tedros thanked the Chinese government for its donations to the WHO for international epidemic control. He said it demonstrates the spirit of global unity and mutual assistance and has great relevance to curbing the pandemic as soon as possible.

DIVIDEND PAYOUTS OF LISTED FIRMS TO SURGE THIS YEAR

Companies listed on the mainland stock exchanges are likely to offer more cash dividends to investors this year to further bolster market confidence and encourage long-term value investing, experts said.

By Thursday, 276 A-share listed firms had announced or made cash dividends to investors using the annual earnings for 2019, with each share earning a dividend of roughly 0.25 yuan (3.5 cents) on average, according to Wind Info.

"It is highly probable that this year's cash dividends will grow from a year earlier," said Tan Yunhui, a strategist with Yuekai Securities.

About 68 percent of the A-share listed companies used the annual earnings of 2018 to pay cash dividends last year, while the proportion is set to markedly rise this year, Tan said, adding that the rise would be attributable to rule-based capital market reforms and policy efforts for stabilizing market expectations.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic regulator, announced measures earlier this month to boost residents' property income, including stricter punishments for dividend payout violations.

The new Securities Law, which took effect on March 1, also stipulates that listed firms should specify the arrangements about cash dividend payments in the articles of association and make payments accordingly.

Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, said the amendments were necessary as some of the listed blue-chip companies wanted to reserve profits for business expansion, rather than for dividend payouts.

"Boosting the willingness of listed firms to pay cash dividends is essential for long-term value investment," Dong said.

As more listed firms pay decent and steady cash dividends, investors will be more inclined to hold shares of the companies for a longer period, instead of chasing capital gains via short-term speculative trading, he said.

Dong urged mainland listed firms to shift from annual dividend payouts to seasonal payouts as it would be fairer to investors, reduce speculation during earnings season and help the A-share market catch up with practices in mature markets.

Higher cash dividends will also help stabilize investors' expectation of investment returns and boost market confidence, helping the market maintain ample liquidity during global financial turmoil, Tan said.

Shares with higher dividend payouts and solid fundamentals will provide investors with a safe alternative to weather the current market fluctuations, Tan said.

Listed firms on the A-share market have paid more dividends in recent years, with cash dividend payments for the whole market growing by 17.86 percent on a yearly basis in 2017, 17.81 percent in 2018 and by 6.49 percent to 1.22 trillion yuan in total in 2019, according to data compiled by Securities Daily.

Promoting long-term investment is one of the priorities of China's capital market reforms. On Wednesday, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission launched new rules on insurance asset management products, partly to encourage insurers to inject long-term funds into the capital market.

Taking effect from May 1, the regulations enlarge the scope of distribution channels and qualified investors in insurance asset management products and streamline the product issuance procedures.

CONSUMPTION SECTOR TO SHAKE OFF IMPACT SOON

China's consumption sector will shake off the novel coronavirus epidemic impact in the medium or long term, as the country is nurturing new growth engines, senior officials said on Thursday.

The comments come close on the heels of a recent study that said home quarantine has boosted the online shopping habit among more consumers.

Xian Guoyi, director-general of trade in services and commercial services department under the Ministry of Commerce, said the epidemic impact on the consumption sector is short-term and controllable.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Xian said companies' production and people's living orders have gradually returned to normalcy, as the government has introduced several support steps and measures.

"The consumer market is expected to recover steadily. The inelastic demand in some areas has been delayed due to the outbreak, but once the contagion is over, there will be compensatory consumption," Xian said.

According to him, in late February, the average daily sales of key retail enterprises monitored by the ministry climbed 5.6 percent compared to mid-February. In early March, their average sales climbed 0.5 percent compared to the same period last month.

Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the COVID-19 outbreak has been a severe test for the Chinese market, but it won't change the long-term stability and continuous upgrade of the country's consumption sector.

The outbreak's negative impact on the consumption industry may be short-term and such an impact would become more moderate in the long run, he said.

China will facilitate emerging consumption models, represented by online shopping, and will remove institutional barriers for the industry's growth and revive pent-up demand amid the epidemic control efforts, said Ha Zengyou, a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

Emerging and upgraded consumption is expected to unleash new drivers for the economy, Ha said at a recent news conference. For instance, efforts will be made to facilitate the integration of online and offline consumption and upgrade traditional retail and services, he said.

With more consumers urged to stay at home amid the epidemic in China, the "homebody economy" grew rapidly across the country, according to a survey from Nielsen, the global measurement and data analytics company.

The findings showed that during the epidemic, Chinese consumers had strong demand for daily necessities and fresh products. Nearly 70 percent of the respondents bought daily necessities and fresh products more than twice a week, and over 80 percent of them shopped online.

Zhao Lingyi, an analyst with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said the surging online orders for fresh food were primarily boosted by the fact that consumers prefer contactless services, and the majority of these consumers were aged between 35 and 45 years.

"Such delivery services have high satisfaction ratings among the respondents, while some issues, such as depleted inventories and high prices, have impacted user experiences," Zhao said in a recent research note.

CHINA SUSPENDS ENTRY BY FOREIGN NATIONALS

China has decided to temporarily suspend the entry into China by foreign nationals holding valid visas or residence permits because of the rapid global spread of COVID-19, according to an announcement by the Foreign Ministry and the National Immigration Administration on Thursday.

The suspension -- starting on Saturday Mar 28 -- is a temporary measure that China is compelled to take in light of the outbreak situation and the practices of other countries, the announcement said.

According to the announcement, entry by foreign nationals with APEC business travel cards will be suspended as well.

Policies including port visas, 24/72/144-hour visa-free transit policy, Hainan 30-day visa-free policy, 15-day visa-free policy specified for foreign cruise-group-tour through Shanghai Port, Guangdong 144-hour visa-free policy specified for foreign tour groups from Hong Kong or Macao SAR, and Guangxi 15-day visa-free policy specified for foreign tour groups of ASEAN countries will also be temporarily suspended.

Entry with diplomatic, service, courtesy or C visas will not be affected and foreign nationals coming to China for necessary economic, trade, scientific or technological activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs may apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates, the announcement said.

Entry by foreign nationals with visas issued after this announcement will not be affected.

China will stay in close touch with all sides and properly handle personnel exchanges with the rest of the world under the special circumstances, it said, adding that the above-mentioned measures will be calibrated in light of the evolving situation and announced accordingly.

CITIZENS STUCK ABROAD TO RECEIVE MORE HELP

China will extend special aid to its citizens stranded overseas while continuing efforts to prevent both the importation of COVID-19 cases and a possible domestic rebound of the outbreak, according to a decision made during a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

The meeting of the leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on coping with the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak stressed the importance of fully recognizing the complex, challenging situation of the pandemic and the need for zero complacency toward containment measures.

The country will offer more aid to its citizens overseas, including providing them with epidemic prevention materials and more care and support, the group said in a statement. With the pandemic accelerating its global spread and mounting pressure on the nation to curb importation of cases, authorities will further tighten management of inbound travelers and bolster preventive measures at international airports.

Local authorities must also assume their responsibilities and enhance measures to prevent the importation and exportation of cases via land or water, the group said. Persons coming in via ground transportation−except for inhabitants of border areas, diplomats and those engaged in important trade, research and technological cooperative activities−must undergo group isolation measures, it said.

The meeting issued instructions on containment for cargo truck drivers while ensuring smooth cross-border cargo transportation and reinforced management for border area dwellers to reduce unnecessary passenger flows.

The group also highlighted the need to consolidate important outcomes in containment in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan.

The country will continue to have high-caliber medical workers treat severe cases in Wuhan so as to maximize efforts to improve recovery rates and reduce mortality rates from the epidemic. Hospitals must strictly implement discharge policies and enhance follow-up visits and health management of recovered patients, the group said.

It also instructed public health teams to focus on communities while investigating the source of every new infection, suspected case and asymptomatic case.

Authorities in other areas must give full play to the network of precheck and triage practices at fever clinics and the mechanism of monitoring and reporting pneumonia with unknown origins to boost health monitoring and surveillance tests, the group said.

Once new infections are spotted, authorities must enforce targeted controls for possibly affected groups and venues, it added.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. – Susan Ertz