NE China speeds up work resumption as epidemic abates

SHENYANG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Work has gradually resumed in the three northeast Chinese provinces following a resurgence of COVID-19 infections since March.

Jilin Province, which has seen over 60,000 cases reported in the latest outbreak, previously imposed measures such as traffic control and closed management in the cities of Changchun and Jilin to effectively curb the transmission of COVID-19.

Leading Chinese automaker FAW Group Co., Ltd. has now reopened its five machine factories in Changchun, capital of Jilin, since local authorities have cut off all COVID-19 transmission chains out of the city's quarantine areas.

The company's work resumption plays a positive role in guaranteeing the stable operation of the auto industry, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.

As the pillar enterprise of Jilin and an important part of domestic and global automotive industrial chains, FAW Group's production resumption helps bring its subsidiaries and auto parts suppliers back to work.

Fawer Hanon Automotive Components (Changchun) Co., Ltd. is one of the suppliers that are welcoming their employees back to their posts.

Li Huan with the company said that their intelligent production lines of electric compressors and refrigerant valves have returned to 80 percent of normal production capacity.

Boasting China's top automobile manufacturing and R&D centers, as well as a large number of auto parts suppliers and vehicle manufacturers, the northeast China region plays an important role in both the auto industry and the country's economy, said Cui.

Amid the battle against COVID-19, there were as many as 2,175 enterprises that suspended production in the coastal province of Liaoning.

Local authorities have vowed to bring the economy back on track, encouraging enterprises to resume work and production in an orderly manner, as the number of COVID-19 infections is receding, thanks to fine-tuned virus control measures remaining in place.

The government has set up a special task force to minimize the impact on the economy and stabilize economic performance, and has opened up a "green channel" for enterprises to resume work, said Wang Danqun, deputy director of the Liaoning provincial department of industrial and information technology.

China Railway Shenyang Group Co., Ltd. has restarted a batch of high-speed railway construction projects, including the construction of a high-speed railway linking Shenyang with the Changbai Mountains in Jilin, which will form an important link in the high-speed railway network in northeast China.

Meanwhile, the railway authority launched Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway on Friday, which marked the beginning of trade via railway between northeast China and ASEAN countries.

As of April 22, of the 8,604 sizeable industrial enterprises in Liaoning, 98.7 percent had resumed work and production. Construction of the second phase of BMW Brilliance Automobile's new Tiexi manufacturing factory has also resumed.

On April 12, the number of drivers who logged on to on-demand delivery service provider Lalamove, known as Huolala in Chinese, to check freight transport orders started to increase significantly in Shenyang. The demand for freight transport on the platform nearly quadrupled from April 13 to 14.

Heilongjiang Province, known as China's "grain barn," is seeing spring farming proceeding at full throttle.

In the provincial capital of Harbin, the province's largest vegetable wholesale market resumed business last week. The market has set a daily capacity limit of 1,500 vehicles, while customers were asked to order online before pickup to minimize contact.