REGIONAL COOPERATION VITAL FOR VIRUS RESPONSE

The novel coronavirus pandemic could help China and neighboring countries step up nontraditional security cooperation for a stronger community with a shared future as President Xi Jinping has been committed to promoting neighborhood diplomacy based on the principles of friendship, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, experts said.

Since the start of the outbreak, which has involved more than 2.3 million confirmed infections and 160,000 deaths worldwide, China has been working with its neighbors to overcome the unprecedented common threat caused by COVID-19 through bilateral or multilateral mechanisms, and make joint efforts to offset the impact of the epidemic on their economic development.

Xi has used head-of-state diplomacy to strengthen unity with other leaders on the fight against the contagion through meetings, telephone conversations and correspondence in order to jointly promote regional and global public health security.

During his latest diplomatic interactions with neighboring leaders last week, Xi told Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone that they should coordinate the two countries' actions to fight the virus. Xi and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov also pledged to strengthen solidarity and cooperation at the bilateral level and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. All the leaders agreed to jointly contribute to global public health security and economic recovery.

A report released last week by the China Institute of International Studies said that in a globalized world, interconnectedness and interdependence among countries has helped to create a community with a shared future.

As a further nontraditional security threat caused by something similar to COVID-19 will possibly emerge in the future, China and neighboring countries should take the joint fight against the epidemic as an opportunity to strengthen their teamwork based on the existing cooperation mechanism, the report suggested.

Addressing a special meeting on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic involving the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea on April 14, Premier Li Keqiang said "the battle against COVID-19 has made us more aware that we are in a community with a shared future", and he called on the countries to send a message of partnership, solidarity and mutual assistance to boost confidence in the region and beyond.

A joint statement issued after the videoconference reaffirmed the countries' shared commitment to strengthening solidarity, enhancing cooperation and mutual support among them to control and contain the spread of the pandemic, and addressing the adverse socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.

XI: CHINA, ZIMBABWE TO STEP UP PANDEMIC FIGHT

China and Zimbabwe have vowed to strengthen cooperation and join forces to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as it spreads on the African continent.

President Xi Jinping and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa reached the consensus during their recent exchange of congratulatory messages on the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations on Saturday.

Xi said that China and Zimbabwe have always adhered to mutual trust and mutual support over the past four decades and the relationship has withstood the test of time and the challenges of the international situation.

Noting that he and Mnangagwa have reached important consensuses on establishing and developing the China-Zimbabwe comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Xi said he attaches great importance to bilateral ties and will work with his Zimbabwean counterpart to take the 40th anniversary as an opportunity to further advance bilateral ties.

Xi suggested that the two sides jointly promote the development of the Belt and Road, the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the realization of Zimbabwe's "Vision 2030", expand practical cooperation in various fields, and offer each other stronger support on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns.

Mnangagwa said that the past 40 years have demonstrated that sincerity, solidarity, mutual benefit and mutual trust are the prominent features of the brotherly friendship and high-level relationship between the two countries.

Zimbabwe steadfastly adheres to the one-China policy and wishes to see further Belt and Road cooperation, he said, adding that Zimbabwe will continue to resolutely push for the deeper development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

In face of the grave challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zimbabwe is willing to strengthen solidarity and mutual support with China and jointly cope with the effects of the disease on bilateral cooperation, he said.

CENTRAL SOES REPORT HIGHER PROFITABILITY IN MARCH

With the work of COVID-19 prevention and control being conducted steadily and positively across China, most centrally administered State-owned enterprises reported better profitability since this March, the country's top State assets regulator said.

In March, the operating revenue of central SOEs reached 2.2 trillion yuan ($310.75 billion), returning to the same level as January, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

A total of 11 central SOEs saw a year-on-year growth in profit growth between January and March.

In March, the profitability of 43 central SOEs returned to average growth levels in 2019, while 37 central SOEs saw the rate of profit decline narrow by more than 10 percentage points from the first two months of this year.

The SASAC said the fixed asset investment of central SOEs in the first quarter amounted to 364.76 billion yuan, falling 4.5 percent year-on-year. However, such investment grew 4.1 percent on a yearly basis in March, according to SASAC.

In terms of key industries, the fixed-asset investment of central SOEs in petroleum and petrochemical, power and telecommunications sectors surged 12.4 percent, 2 percent and 12.3 percent on a yearly basis respectively in the first quarter of this year.

SKI RESORTS SEE RECOVERY ON HORIZON

Despite being hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, China's ski industry remains bullish about its long-term future as resort owners predict a bounce-back effect buffered by more robust business models.

With their properties shut down and consumers staying put during the crisis, China's fledgling ski industry has dealt with an unprecedented drop in revenues over the past winter, when major infrastructure upgrades and ideal weather conditions were expected to bring the best season ever.

Despite consistent snowfall lasting into early spring, the ski area on the mountains surrounding the Chongli district of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province has seen its well-groomed slopes and perfect powder snow wasted over the past two months, with chair lifts swaying silently in the breeze and once-bustling resorts still and empty.

The bleak scenes at the emerging ski town, which is now linked to Beijing by a new 50-minute, high-speed rail line, are a microcosm of the entire industry's predicament.

Around 40 percent of businesses operating in the country's winter sports sector have seen their revenues more than halved this season compared to the previous winter, while the same proportion are operating on cash flows that will last only two more months, according to an industry analysis published by the Beijing Olympic City Development Association last Thursday.

Despite such grim figures, some ski operators can still see a silver lining.

"As long as we can survive through the challenge, which I believe we can, we will resurge starting from next winter, with a rebound in consumption a very likely scenario," Luo Li, founder and chairman of Wanlong Paradise Resort in Chongli, said during an online forum last week.

"A public health crisis like this pandemic will inspire people to embrace a more active lifestyle through sports participation afterwards, which I believe is a boon for the outdoor industry as a whole."

Executives from nine major ski resorts across the country agreed during the video conference that even the "coldest" winter the industry has ever faced will thaw into spring sooner or later.

"The damage of this season was huge as the virus abruptly cut short the entire operation window," said Li Jianhong, president of the Silk Road International Resort in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Just across the ridge from Wanlong, the Genting Resort Secret Garden, which will co-host some snow events at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has also had to absorb a painful financial hit, losing an estimated 180 million yuan ($25 million) this season, according to its senior vice-president, Shu Wen.

Adhering to government regulations, the Genting resort reopened on Feb 28 following a month-long shutdown, but visitor numbers have been minimal with the majority of its core market unable to travel from Beijing due to quarantine measures.

"Streamlining management and lowering unnecessary operational costs while seeking new projects for all-season business have now become the ideal model for all resorts to thrive in the long run," said Wu Bin, president of Beijing-based industry analyst Carving Ski.

Huaibei International Ski Resort in north Beijing's Huairou district has begun exploring this market, developing a river-rafting trip which takes tourists on an exciting 3.86-kilometer ride through a forested valley.

WUHAN RESTARTS: MEASURES ANNOUNCED TO BOOST CONSUMPTION

Wuhan has unveiled a series of measures to ensure people's livelihood and support small, medium and micro-sized enterprises.

The local government of Wuhan has started to work with online platforms to offer a total of 2.3 billion yuan in coupons from April 19 to July 31 to stimulate its consumer market, with 500 million yuan from the municipal government.

The first batch of coupons worth 72 million yuan has been issued via Alipay on April 19, according to the official social media account of the Wuhan government on Sina Weibo.

Consumption coupons can be used in catering, shopping malls, supermarkets or convenience stores, as well as culture and tourism.

Moreover, the city will build new online business forms such as cloud supermarkets, cloud entertainment and cloud education, and set up new retail scenes including new types of convenience stores, unmanned supermarkets, smart vending machines, contactless delivery and new trip modes, to promote consumption, vice-mayor of Wuhan Li Qiang said at a news conference on Sunday.

On April 18, the Wuhan government released 12 policies and measures to bail out small, medium and micro-sized enterprises in the city , including providing special loans, lowering and cutting some rents, taxes and fees, defer payment of social security funds, ensuring water and electricity supply and optimizing government services.

In late March, Wuhan announced the first 20 billion yuan fund to provide one-year interest-free loans to SMEs that are struggling due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

A few days ago, the local government announced it would set up another 20 billion yuan in special loans to SMEs, as well as providing financing guarantees and risk compensation funds to aid credit to these enterprises.

PLOWING WORK A POSITIVE SIGN IN AGRICULTURE

Spring plowing in China is seeing promising momentum, with the area planted with grain accounting for 21 percent of the annual plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs revealed on Sunday.

Wheat production in Southwest China along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers is expected to see an increase in the coming harvest season, Liu Lihua, deputy director of the ministry's plantation management department, told a news conference hosted by the State Council's joint epidemic prevention and control mechanism.

"This year's total planting area for rice is estimated to end seven years of consecutive decline," Liu said.

She added that the ministry has promoted multiple methods to control and prevent diseases, such as stripe rust and gibberellic disease, that may affect grain output.

Sunday marked the start of one of China's 24 solar terms−Grain Rain, which signals the end of cold weather and a rapid rise in temperature. Liu said spring plowing will soon hit its peak season, and the current achievement has laid a solid foundation for this year's food production goal.

To guarantee the spring plowing work amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, the ministry has promoted high-tech planting nationwide, according to Wang Jiayun, deputy director of the ministry's agricultural mechanization department.

More than 30,000 drones have been used for planting crops, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year, Wang said.

About 20,000 intelligent agricultural machines and facilities have also been introduced, including automatic plowing tractors and the Beidou Satellite Navigation System.

Wang said an estimated 22 million agricultural machines will be used for farming this year, 300,000 more than last year.

In Hubei province, the region hit hardest by the epidemic, 300,000 farmland cultivators and 24,000 rice transplanters have aided spring plowing efforts.

Statistics from the ministry show the output of soybean meal grew 4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, reaching 14.63 million metric tons.

"Global ports will step up efforts to ensure soybean shipments amid the pandemic," Wei said. "The price of soybean meal is very unlikely to surge as we have enough reserves and the demand will be stable."

TESTING INTENSIFIES AS CLUSTERS OF INFECTIONS INCREASE

China is coping with a steady increase in domestic clusters of novel coronavirus infections triggered by people arriving from overseas as local governments intensify testing among high-risk groups to stem a resurgence of the virus.

The Chinese mainland added 16 new infections on Saturday, including nine cases detected in inbound arrivals−the lowest number of daily imported cases in a month−the National Health Commission said.

Though the number of locally transmitted infections dropped to seven on Saturday after four days of maintaining double-digit daily growth, a few regions are facing mounting pressure as clusters of infected people seeded by imported cases rise, commission spokesman Mi Feng said on Sunday.

"The situation highlights the significance of ensuring close management of the epidemic and cutting off community transmission of the virus," he said.

Of the newly added domestic cases on Saturday, six were detected in Heilongjiang province, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there in the past 10 days to 38. In addition, 23 domestic asymptomatic cases were identified during the period, according to the provincial Health Commission. The other domestic case on the mainland was in Guangdong province.

Many of the locally transmitted infections in Heilongjiang are believed to be associated with a few cases in Harbin, the provincial capital, including an 87-year-old man who was recently hospitalized for stroke and infected medical workers and patients in his ward, as well as other people who had come into close contact with him. The source of his infection was reportedly a person in close contact with a young Chinese student who studied abroad and returned to Harbin on March 19.

As the increase in locally transmitted infections underscores the menacing contagiousness of the virus, an increasing number of regions are stepping up testing to sever possible chains of community transmission.

Harbin's city government said on Saturday evening that it will conduct free nucleic acid and antibody tests on all senior high school students and their family members, as well as teachers and staff members involved in their studies. Before tests are completed, all courses will be conducted online.

Beijing has also stressed improving testing capacities to cover all groups at high risk of contracting or transmitting the virus. It has identified eight groups that must take nucleic acid tests, including confirmed cases and their close contacts, visitors to fever clinics, patients planning to be hospitalized and inbound travelers from overseas or other regions in China, the city government said on Sunday.

In Wuhan, the hardest-hit city in China, wider testing has been rolled out since the lifting of outbound travel restrictions on April 8 as more people travel out of the area to return to work.

Hubei's provincial government announced on Saturday that the epidemic risk rating for Wuhan had been downgraded to low for the first time since the province started publishing risk evaluations in late February. The updated status meant that all cities and counties across the province are now deemed at low risk of spreading the virus.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give you get. What you see in others exists in you. - Zig Ziglar