AMBASSADOR CHALLENGES CLAIMS CHINA HID VIRUS COUNT

China's top diplomat in the United States refuted the claims that his country has underreported the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths, suggesting instead that the accusers usually have things under their "dirty carpet".

Ambassador Cui Tiankai, in an interview with Ian Bremmer at the weekly digital and broadcast show Gzero World, also said that the majority of the several million people believed to have left Wuhan before the capital of Central China's Hubei was locked down on Jan 23 to combat the novel coronavirus had actually remained within China, instead of traveling elsewhere and spreading the virus.

The program began airing nationally over the weekend on US public television.

"For the accusations that China is hiding the numbers, just think about it. We have such a huge population, such a big country, you cannot hide the cases with such a very vicious virus," Cui said in the interview on April 3.

"Because if you have patients, they are just patients. If people are infected, they're just infected, how can you hide them?" Cui told Bremmer, president and founder of Gzero Media and Eurasia Group.

As for those people and some institutions accusing China of concealing, Cui suggested that if looking at their own history, normally they are the people and institutions who are "always hiding and concealing" something from the public.

He was not asked to elaborate on who the accusers are.

"I don't know what is under their dirty carpet. Maybe you could have a look," he said.

Cui offered a brief timeline of reporting of what later was categorized as COVID-19 in Wuhan, saying that before Li Wenliang, an eye doctor who sounded the alarm about the infection, another doctor, also in the city, had reported suspicious cases of people running fevers for unknown reasons.

Three days after the woman doctor put forward the reporting, the local CDC sent an alert to all the local hospitals to say that there were suspicious cases of unknown cause, according to the ambassador.

DIGITAL ECONOMY GROWTH GIVES PUSH TO VIRUS FIGHT

Developments in the digital economy arising from China's anti-coronavirus fight are set to accelerate the country's economic transformation and upgrading beyond the epidemic, according to analysts.

New "digital infrastructures" including the internet of things and big data that have significantly contributed to the headway made against the COVID-19 outbreak, in sectors ranging from healthcare and medical supplies to education and logistics, will further stabilize and spur investment, growth and consumption, analysts agreed at a major online forum organized by leading think tank Center for China and Globalization on Thursday.

The latest technologies help form "an important way to resolve the adverse effects of the epidemic and achieve stable and orderly economic development. In the long run, the new infrastructure is a cornerstone for high-quality development", the think tank's vice-president and secretary-general Miao Lu said.

Zhang Lianqi, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice-head of the Chinese Tax Institute, said the fresh impetus fueling the Chinese economy called for a broad awareness of the changes, even as markets and sectors took hold of the digitization opportunities through innovation.

"Digital technology has improved significantly. We have accumulated a lot of experience and a lot of so-called infrastructure for emerging industries… there are signs that the country is ready to invest, in the digital transformation of traditional industries, including services transformation, information management and intelligent manufacturing," Zhang said.

Huo Jianguo, former head of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said investment in the digital sphere marks a significant move away from that in traditional sectors such as railways, roads, airports and ports which have more or less matured in their development−it is now time to turn to new areas, including the upgrading of domestic consumer levels and behavior that can better meet the challenges and opportunities of the global economy.

Huang Rihan, executive director of the think tank's Belt and Road Institute, and executive director of the China Digital Economy Institute, said the wide-ranging "digital disruptions" seen in the Chinese economy reflect an important time for the country and its future economic development that extends to its global role as it emerges from the COVID-19 challenge. Innovation in digital information technologies for healthcare have, for instance, complemented the resumption of Chinese production of medical supplies to other countries still struggling with the pandemic, Huang said.

PANDEMIC POSES CHALLENGE TO STUDENTS ABROAD

Britain's quality education has been highly attractive to hundreds of thousands of Chinese over the years, but many such students now face a dilemma: should they stay where they are and push on with their studies, or should they return to China, where they may feel safer?

As British universities have closed, meaning students have to do remote learning, many Chinese have opted to go home.

Luo Hannan, a health economics master's student at the London School of Economics, said she was fortunate that she decided relatively early to take a flight back to China, which cost 3,252 Chinese yuan ($458 or 370 pounds) from London to Shanghai via Moscow.

Even given the risk she might have exposed herself to during the long-haul international flights, Luo said she still thinks it was wise to return home given the unclear safety guidelines issued by the British government at the time. "I had to return to China anyway, otherwise I would have had to overstay my visa due to the lock down or canceled flights."

Another consideration was whether overstayers would receive proper healthcare, which was unclear at that time, given the limited health resources in the UK.

"So, it was better to return as soon as possible for me," she said. "Also, as COVID-19 was not as lethal as Ebola, even if I caught it during the flight, I would definitely get timely and affordable treatment in China."

Now, as commercial flights between the two countries have been suspended, securing a seat on a flight to China could cost as much as a few thousand pounds, for a trip involving numerous possible stopovers.

Many UK-based Chinese students faced difficulties in getting back to China because of the pandemic, China's Foreign Ministry arranged a charter flight, in coordination with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, to bring the students back on April 2.

The UK has more than 220,000 Chinese students at 154 universities and about 15,000 Chinese teenagers at more than 1,000 British private schools, making China the top source of overseas students in the UK, according to the Chinese embassy in London.

And with many Chinese students in Britain having chosen to stay through the epidemic, the embassy is in close contact with the student community there and is responding to their needs. The embassy has provided Chinese students in Britain with "health kits" containing epidemic prevention material and guidelines.

All schools and universities in the UK were asked to close from March 18 as part of the government's emergency measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus, and the educational establishments across the country have been moving to online teaching.

CITIES ON ALERT AS CASES FROM RUSSIA RISE

China has strengthened epidemic control in its border regions and expanded coronavirus infection testing in key areas to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus from Russia, which has become China's second-largest source country of imported cases.

Measures such as the closure of border crossings with Russia to travelers and a lockdown of communities in key areas will continue to be enforced, along with the arrival of more medical support sent from across China, the establishment of a temporary hospital and the guarantee of more coronavirus infection testing.

On Sunday, China reported a record daily high of 97 imported cases of COVID-19, of which 72 were from Russia and reported in Shanghai and Heilongjiang province.

According to the National Health Commission, as of Sunday, the country has reported 240 imported cases from Russia, in comparison with 282 from the United Kingdom, the largest source country of imported cases, and 153 from the United States.

The closure of all border crossings with Russia to travelers, especially the highway port of entry in Suifenhe, Heilongjiang, has been enforced since Tuesday. A lockdown of the city, which has reported 194 confirmed cases and 121 asymptomatic cases from Russia since March 27, has also been enforced since Wednesday.

On Sunday, Suifenhe reported another 21 new imported cases of COVID-19 from Russia, all Chinese citizens returning via the highway port of entry in the city after flying from Moscow to Vladivostok.

The other 51 imported cases from Russia on Sunday were reported in Shanghai, all landing at Pudong airport on the same flight on Saturday. According to the Shanghai Public Health Administration, 92 people who had close contact with the 51 confirmed cases are still under medical observation in the city.

"On Saturday, the country registered a record daily high of imported cases. This indicates an increasing risk of imported cases, putting pressure on cities of entry," Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said at a news conference in Beijing on Sunday. "We should be prepared to tackle the risk of imported cases for a relatively long period."

On Sunday, the Chinese embassy in Moscow issued a notice on its WeChat account reiterating that all Chinese citizens should abide by Russia's epidemic prevention requirements and avoid long journeys.

According to Yu Kaijiang, director of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University and head of the provincial medical team dispatched to Suifenhe, many inbound travelers entering China via Suifenhe were exhausted after the long journey, which "could have worsened their condition", and "it would have been better if they stayed and got treatment locally".

Yu said at a news conference on Thursday that all patients would be sent to designated hospitals in Suifenhe and Mudanjiang, based on their conditions.

A temporary hospital in Suifenhe, which is in a converted office building and has more than 600 beds, also became operational on Saturday. It will admit asymptomatic patients if the city's hospitals do not have the capacity to treat them, Yu said.

WHEN CLASSES START AGAIN, MASKS REQUIRED

School teachers and students in Beijing will be required to wear masks at all times when new semester starts, under a rule issued by the capital's education authorities on Monday.

The Beijing Municipal Education Commission said in a circular that surgical masks are must-have items for teachers when giving lessons at school. It added that the disinfection of classroom floors, study lounges and labs should be conducted twice daily, and used tissues and face masks should be placed in special trash cans with people assigned for clean-up.

If the novel coronavirus is confirmed or suspected in a school, an emergency response plan must be launched and measures such as a suspension of classes or even closing the school would be taken to guarantee the safety and health of students and teachers, the notice said.

A relatively closed class management method will be adopted at the start of the new semester, the authorities said. All classes will set different times for breaks, meals or leaving school to reduce interaction as much as possible between students.

Parents must leave the school immediately after picking up their children to avoid clustering, the notice said. A specific designated area for parents to wait for their children to finish class is to be maintained in front of each school gate, ensuring the safety of every parent and student.

Education authorities in the capital said on Sunday that high school seniors will go back to class on April 27, and students in their final year of primary school will return on May 11. Return dates for students in other grades in Beijing have not been specified yet.

PLA AIR FORCE'S FIRST FEMALE FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS BEGIN TEACHING PILOTS

The People's Liberation Army Air Force's first female flight instructors began training students late last month, the Air Force said in a statement released on Friday.

Several female fighter jet pilots were selected in August for flight instructor training at the Aviation University of the PLA Air Force, and they passed qualification tests in February, it said.

The instructors are graduates of the university and can fly basic trainer and advanced trainer planes as well as fighter jets.

They have been training flight students in CJ-6 basic trainer aircraft since late March, the Air Force said.

The Chinese military enrolled its first female pilots in 1951, and about 580 female aviators in 10 generations have joined the Air Force since then. The first seven generations of female pilots only flew transport planes, but some have been selected to operate fighter jets since the eighth generation.

In the selection for the 10th generation in 2013, the Air Force selected 38 women who graduated from high school that year and sent them to its Aviation University. After five years of strict training, 17 graduated and qualified as fighter jet pilots.

Thirty-five female students are currently learning to fly at the Aviation University. After graduation, some will become the 11th generation of female pilots.

Wu Peixin, a Beijing-based observer of military aviation, said the female instructors must have developed rich experience and skills in operating various types of planes to qualify as flight instructors−a truly demanding job.

"Generally speaking, women are more patient and more attentive to details, and these traits are useful in flight training," he said. "Moreover, female students are likely to feel more relaxed and encouraged when they are trained by female instructors."

Wu said the recruitment and deployment of more women in aviation units appeared to be a trend in the military.

POLICIES SET TO MITIGATE IMPACT OF OUTBREAK

China's economic growth is likely to contract sharply in the first quarter and the policy focus in the coming months should be on containing the risk of rising unemployment and preventing temporary shocks caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak from becoming permanent damage, economists said.

They also expect supportive government policies to facilitate a strong economic rebound in the second quarter and policymakers to continue using expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to offset the outbreak's negative impact on economic activities.

Attention has been focused on China's first-quarter economic performance as the country is scheduled to release first-quarter GDP growth and other key economic data later this week.

Most economists see China's first-quarter GDP growth as falling into negative territory and the official data will likely reflect a severe economic downturn in the first three months as the COVID-19 outbreak almost brought the country's economic activity to a standstill.

But observers said that the economy has shown signs of a gradual recovery as more restaurants and shopping malls reopened and more workers have returned to factories as production resumed. The lifting of the lockdown in Wuhan, Hubei province, the most affected region in China, has also sent a positive signal that stringent control measures have been effective in containing the virus.

Despite the disease control progress, the Chinese economy is facing increasing difficulties and the global spread of the virus has brought more uncertainties, according to a statement released after a top leadership meeting on Wednesday presided over by President Xi Jinping.

"I think one of the most pressing challenges facing the government is to prevent the epidemic from having a long-lasting impact on the economy. If there is widespread bankruptcy and large-scale layoffs, it will be very hard to return economic activity to normal," said Xu Gao, chief economist at BOC International.

China's unemployment rate in urban areas rose to 6.2 percent in February from 5.3 percent in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

"More active macroeconomic policies are needed to resolve the risks in the labor market and to help stimulate demand and create more jobs. We expect China's policy stance to remain accommodative and there is likely to be a substantial rebound of GDP growth in the second quarter," Xu said.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose. - Lou Holtz