BEIJING — Amid further containment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China is powering ahead in returning to work and resuming business and production. The following are the latest facts and figures:
— Profits of China's major industrial firms dropped in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 with signs of improvement in March amid efforts to coordinate COVID-19 containment and economic growth, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on April 27.
Profits of industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about $2.83 million) totaled 781.45 billion yuan in Q1, down 36.7 percent year-on-year, NBS said in a statement.
The contraction narrowed from the 38.3 percent decline in the first two months, NBS data showed.
— Chinese authorities have stressed the faithful implementation of various financial policies for poverty relief to coordinate efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and carry out targeted financial poverty alleviation.
All financial institutions should continue to carry out financial poverty alleviation work this year and focus on deeply impoverished areas and counties that are still stuck in poverty, said a national video teleconference held by the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
Financial institutions should make full use of policy tools such as refinancing for poverty relief, increase investment in financial resources and strive to achieve full coverage of basic financial services, it said.
— The Yellow Crane Tower, a landmark tourist attraction in Wuhan, the Chinese city once hard hit by the novel coronavirus, will reopen on April 29.
Starting on April 29, the scenic park will be open from 8:30 am to 5 pm, with the number of visitors capped at 5,400 daily, said its management office on April 26.
Visitors can book tickets online in advance and scan their ID card or QR code at the entrance to enter the park, following a temperature check and the provision of a green health code.