XI CALLS FOR RENEWED FRIENDSHIP WITH INDONESIA

President Xi Jinping called on Monday for solidarity between China and Indonesia to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and enrich the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership as the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

In a message exchange with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Xi recalled time-honored friendship and exchanges between the two nations, adding that bilateral relations have made great strides in 70 years.

The nations have kept elevating their relations, expanding areas of cooperation and jointly building the Belt and Road with rich outcomes, he said. They also have worked closely together on international and regional issues, contributing to the well-being of both peoples and prosperity and stability at regional and global levels, he said.

China and Indonesia share broad common interests at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, and the potential for bilateral cooperation remains huge, he added.

Xi said he attaches great importance to bilateral relations and is ready to make concerted efforts with his Indonesian counterpart to inject fresh momentum into regional development.

The Indonesian president said the two countries share historical and cultural bonds, and the close contacts between their leaders and peoples have built a solid friendship.

He said their ties have become increasingly mature in the past 70 years, and the two countries have kept creating cooperative opportunities that benefited the two peoples, which is a source of pride for both.

He called on the two sides to uphold a cooperative spirit under the framework of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, which will surely help the growth and prosperity of both countries and contribute to regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.

BORDER CITIES AIM TO BLOCK INFECTIONS FROM RUSSIA

Manzhouli, a city on China's border with Russia, has enhanced its medical capabilities and epidemic control measures to cope with COVID-19 cases imported from Russia over the past few days.

The city, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is China's largest border crossing. It reported 71 imported cases since its first about a week ago up to Monday morning, according to the local health commission.

A local hospital, the former Jalainuur Coal Corporation General Hospital, has been renovated to receive COVID-19 patients.

The 340-bed hospital is due to open on Tuesday, and more beds will be added in the following days.

Zhao Yunpeng, head of the city's health commission, said Manzhouli has arranged three designated hospitals with a total of 600 beds for COVID-19 patients, suspected cases and people with fever.

For screening, all arriving passengers from foreign countries will go through health checks and be quarantined.

Medical workers who have participated in prevention and control work related to imported cases are under closed-cycle management, so that cross-infection can be averted.

Furthermore, five medical teams consisting of 118 staff members have been sent to Manzhouli from Hulunbuir.

Manzhouli temporarily barred entry to passengers from the Russian city of Zabaikalsk on Wednesday night after the number of people entering China increased sharply and the city's quarantine and testing capacity was put under great pressure.

Rail and entry ports to the city were also closed, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Suifenhe, in Heilongjiang province, another city bordering Russia, has experienced a similar situation.

As of Monday, it reported at least 243 confirmed COVID-19 cases from Vladivostok, Russia, according to the Chinese consul general in the city.

Heilongjiang confirmed 49 new imported cases and eight asymptomatic cases on Sunday, all Chinese citizens returning from Russia via Suifenhe.

National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said on Monday it had sent medical teams to the city to assist its epidemic control efforts.

The city has received some medical supplies after it called for donations, the Beijing News reported. But protective suits, medical masks and ventilators are still in short supply, the report said.

CHINA'S FOREIGN TRADE VOLUME FALLS 6.4% IN Q1

China's foreign trade volume totaled 6.57 trillion yuan in the first quarter of this year, falling 6.4 percent year-on-year, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.

The country's imports and exports recovered in March. Its foreign trade amounted to 2.45 trillion yuan, decreasing 0.8 percent year-on-year.

China's exports fell by 3.5 percent to 1.29 trillion yuan and imports grew by 2.4 percent to 1.16 trillion yuan last month.

The country's exports dropped by 11.4 percent to 3.33 trillion yuan, and imports declined by 0.7 percent to 3.24 trillion yuan between January and March, according to customs data.

In the meantime, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations replaced the European Union to become China's largest trading partner. China's foreign trade with ASEAN registered 991.34 billion yuan, an increase of 6.1 percent on a yearly basis, accounting for 15.1 percent of China's total trade volume with the world.

China's trade with the EU, the United States and Japan totaled 875.93 billion yuan, 668.01 billion yuan and 465.68 billion yuan between January and March of this year, dropping 10.4 percent, 18.3 percent and 8.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

China's foreign trade with economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative rose 3.2 percent on a yearly basis to 2.07 trillion yuan during the three-month period.

GLOBAL RELIANCE ON CHINA WON'T REDUCE

The global recession the novel coronavirus pandemic is certain to bring about will be far deeper and more protracted than the one that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. While many governments have pledged to bolster their economies with unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus−despite having already massive public debt−the best they can probably hope for is to stave off economic collapse. If they insist on turning inward−pointing fingers and erecting barriers, instead of upholding international cooperation and economic engagement−even that may become impossible.

Engagement by the United States and China is especially important. In the wake of the 2008 crisis, the global economic recovery got a major boost from Sino-American cooperation, which supported individual stimulus measures (quantitative easing in the US and large-scale fiscal stimulus in China).

But the global public health crisis has erupted at a moment when bilateral relations−as well as international cooperation more broadly−are at their lowest point in decades, and the US has shown no inclination to improve the situation. On the contrary, some US politicians immediately latched onto the coronavirus outbreak to argue that no country−especially China−should have such a central position in global supply chains.

Moreover, the US administration has seemed more interested in reminding the public that the virus first "emerged" in China than in taking strong action to control its spread at home. This has severely undermined the willingness and ability of the world's largest economies to mount a coordinated response.

The US is wrong to disregard China's potential to contribute to resolving the global public health crisis. It is also wrong to expect that the pandemic will weaken China's position in global supply chains.

Even if more regionalized and diversified supply chains would reduce risks, China retains considerable competitive advantages in many areas, such as electronics and machinery and equipment manufacturing. It cannot be replaced, at least not in the near term.

This is not to say that China's role in global supply chains will not shift. But that has been happening for a decade, with a large number of low value-added manufacturing jobs being transferred to neighboring countries.

But far from weakening China's position, this has enabled it to climb the value-added ladder. The Yangtze River Delta region and Guangdong province−regions that used to produce garments and shoes and assemble electronics−have become hubs for high-tech innovation.

HOTEL INDUSTRY IN CHINA SHOWING SIGNS OF RECOVERY

Business for China's hotel industry is starting to pick up, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlled to a situation of stability in the country, according to a Monday report from the Paper.

Hotel reservations in China from March 30 to April 6 increased by 24 percent week-on-week. Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou saw the most bookings; while Zhengzhou, Chongqing and Hangzhou registered the fastest growth, as per data from the online travel service platform Qunar.

The first quarter data this year revealed the country's average price of a hotel room amounted to 374 yuan ($53) per night in January, 306 yuan in February and 255 yuan in March.

For high-star hotels (four-star and above), average prices in the first three months of this year were 774 yuan, 593 yuan and 529 yuan per night, respectively. Though February suffered an over 30 percent price decline, the trend slowed down in March, data from Qunar shows.

The number of people choosing high-star hotels with better service and higher safety standards showed a V shape in the first quarter. In February, hotels of four stars or above were hit by an 87 percent plunge of customers, while the number of guests in March was 2.16 times higher than the previous month due to the market recovery.

Gou Zhipeng, vice-president of Qunar, who was quoted in the report, said that many "price-sensitive" consumers are becoming "safety-sensitive" because of the disease, and safety has become the top concern for travelers.

A similar shift has been observed in transportation. The scale of passengers in business class or first class, which was much higher than in 2019 and 2018, bucked the declining trend in February, according to data from Qunar. In March, the booking volume for business class and first class, which have a lower passenger density, increased by 46 percent from February, far above the 34 percent growth from economy class.

On the other hand, the five-day Labor Day holiday in May could encourage more tourists to choose multiday trips or overnight trips over three days, and there is a greater possibility of "compensatory consumption" during the holiday, said Ctrip's big data lab researcher Peng Liang.

On April 9, searches for package tours or DIY tours surged by 300 percent month-on-month on the online travel agency Ctrip after the longer holiday notice was released, the report said, citing data from Ctrip.

The number of tourists is expected to reach a recent high, more than twice the number recorded in this year's Qingming Festival, and it may become this year's first tourism peak, said Ctrip in the report.

LEISHENSHAN HOSPITAL CLOSES AFTER LAST PATIENTS LEAVE

Leishenshan Hospital, an emergency specialty field hospital that started operating in February for treating patients infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei province, will close on Wednesday after its last four patients were moved to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University on Tuesday.

Wang Xinghuan, president of the hospital, said the hospital will not be dismantled and would remain on standby after a thorough disinfection.

"It was a crucial turning point of Wuhan's combat against the COVID-19 that the number of patients in our hospital fell to zero. And the hospital performed well, even on a global scale," Wang said.

According to Wang, the hospital admitted 2,011 patients infected with the novel coronavirus, with serious cases accounting for about 45 percent. The overall mortality rate of the hospital is about 2.3 percent.

Yuan Yufeng, vice president of the hospital, said one of the four patients moved out on Tuesday is 80 years old and two are in their 70s.

"The four tested negative for the novel coronavirus, but still need further treatment for their basic diseases," Yuan said.

In response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Wuhan decided to build the hospital on Jan 25. The hospital, with capacity for 1,600 beds, was completed within less than two weeks.

HEAVY MEDICAL PAYLOAD HEADS FOR POLAND

A six-engine An-225 — the world's largest cargo aircraft — departed Tianjin Binhai International Airport for Poland on Monday with 81.3 metric tons of medical supplies made in China to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The flight is expected to arrive in Warsaw on April 14. The aircraft, owned by Ukraine Antonov Co, made a brief stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan and is expected to arrive in Warsaw on Tuesday local time to deliver medical supplies made in China. The shipment includes face masks and other urgently needed protective supplies.

Since March 22, Tianjin Binhai International Airport has helped transport around 1,000 metric tons of domestically made medical supplies to aid global efforts against COVID-19. More than 60 international cargo flights have been chartered to countries including Poland, Serbia, Pakistan and Russia.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. - Anne Morriss