China aims to balance COVID-19 control, economic growth

Positive economic outlook

According to Yu, the impact of this latest round of Delta outbreaks on the national economy is limited and controllable, and the government has taken necessary actions to stem the virus spread while restoring normal social and economic operations at the earliest possible date.

To lessen the burden on enterprises, authorities in Jiangsu issued a notice on July 28 to help local firms in the procurement of raw materials, logistics and personnel exchanges. Financial authorities in Nanjing also proposed measures to increase credit and loan support to help firms ease capital turnover pressure.

The factory of carmaker SAIC MAXUS's Wuxi Branch has been in full swing as the company is busy producing negative pressure ambulances to support the pandemic fight.

"Thanks to the help of local tax authorities, we have enjoyed a tax rebate of 42.5 million yuan (about $6.6 million), which has greatly relieved our financial pressure stemming from capacity upgrades," said Yan Gebai, chief financial officer of the company.

Major projects have also proceeded as scheduled. A groundbreaking ceremony for 12 projects related to infrastructure and public services, with a total investment of $1.2 billion, was held this month in Jiangsu's Wuxi.

Wen Tao, an analyst with the China Logistics Information Center, said the Chinese economy has witnessed positive changes this year, as shown by the January-July PMI data, and has a relatively solid foundation for long-term development.

In a key meeting on economic work for the second half of this year held amid the COVID-19 resurgence, the Chinese leadership stressed that prudent monetary policy should maintain reasonably ample liquidity and support the continued recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as stressed industries. Efforts should also be made to ensure the supply and stable pricing of commodities.

"Market demand and supply remained basically steady in July amid government measures to coordinate COVID-19 control, disaster relief and economic growth," said Dong Lijuan, senior statistician of the National Bureau of Statistics.

"Due to the disruption caused by the epidemic, the pressure on stable economic growth in the second half of this year has increased, but the sustained upturn is unchanged as China's economy has strong resilience and great potential," said Li Zongguang, an economist with financial institution China Renaissance.