Life in China is slowly returning to normal as the country reported no new Covid-19 cases for several days except for imported cases. The situation in China is in stark contrast with the exploding pandemic outside the country. The global total number of cases is now exceeding 380,000 with the death toll surpassing 16,500. China is now focussing on preventing a resurgence of the epidemic through imported cases as an increasing number of Chinese students are returning from heavy-hit countries. All flights with destination Beijing are now diverted to one of 12 other airports to screen passengers for Covid-19 symptoms. Only those passengers showing no symptoms will be allowed to continue their travel to Beijing where they will be taken to a designated place for a 14-day mandatory quarantine. (See the next news item below for more details on the procedure facing arriving passengers).

All travel restrictions in Hubei province – except for Wuhan – will be lifted on March 25. Authorities in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic in China, have announced that they will lift the lockdown in the city on April 8. The first factories in the capital city of Hubei province are also resuming production. On March 19, for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak started, China has reported no new domestic transmissions of Covid-19 the previous day, a major milestone in the country’s fight against the pandemic. A total of 39 new cases on that day were all overseas arrivals. In Hubei province, there were no cases at all.

About 19 hours after the U.S. announced it would start human trials for the first coronavirus vaccine, China revealed its own initial trials on the first vaccine the country developed. China is expected to be ahead in putting the vaccine on the market, although it will likely not be available for wide use for another 12 to 18 months. The vaccine is being developed by a team led by PLA Major General Chen Wei in cooperation with Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics. Medical authorities in China have said a drug used in Japan to treat new strains of influenza appeared to be effective in coronavirus patients. Zhang Xinmin, an official at China’s Science and Technology Ministry, said favipiravir, developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, had produced encouraging outcomes in clinical trials in Wuhan and Shenzhen involving 340 patients. “It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment,” Zhang told reporters. However, the drug is not so effective in patients with more severe symptoms.

China has sent 2.2 million masks and 50,000 testing kits to the European Union to cope with the spread of novel coronavirus, reciprocating similar assistance Europe provided China when it was at the center of the pandemic. “China has not forgotten that in January when China was the center of the virus outbreak the European Union helped,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video message on Twitter, recalling that the EU donated 50 tons of protective equipment. “Today we are the center of the pandemic and we need protective equipment ourselves. We are ramping up our production but this needs several weeks and in the meantime we are grateful for support from China.”

China may reduce its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds in response to expectations the U.S. dollar will weaken, analysts said, as Japan remained the largest holder of U.S. bonds for a consecutive eight months. China slightly increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities in January by USD8.7 billion to a total of USD1.08 trillion, the first rise since June 2019, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. In contrast to dollar depreciation expectations, the yuan is forecast to become more stable and its standing as a major international currency will be further elevated, Xi Junyang, Professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times.

Industrial production declined by 13.5% over the first two months of the year, combined data for January and February showed. Retail sales fell by 20.5%, again the first decline on record. This was well below the median forecast of a group of analysts, conducted by Bloomberg, which predicted a 4.0% contraction. Fixed asset investment (FAI) collapsed by 24.5%, much worse than analysts’ predictions of minus 2.0%. This was the first shrinkage on record. Manufacturing output alone had slumped by 15.7% over January and February, while investment in the sector fell by 31.5%. The total value of lost wages from migrant workers in February and March, after many were unable to return from their home towns to city jobs, could add up to CNY800 billion, Gavekal said. When self-employed persons are included, that figure could balloon to CNY1.5 trillion, or 3% to 4% of overall household disposable income, the South China Morning Post reports.

The China Cuisine Association said the epidemic is estimated to have caused losses to the Chinese catering industry of about CNY500 billion during the Spring Festival holiday, which is normally a peak time for the sector. The Association’s report issued in early March said 93% of catering companies in China had to suspend operations due to the epidemic. It will take two to three months for the catering industry to recover, as shutdowns and the outbreak kept diners away and time will be needed to win them back.

As former Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong was appointed Party Secretary in Hubei province to help manage the coronavirus crisis, Gong Zheng, a former Governor of Shandong province, has been appointed Acting Mayor of Shanghai. He has worked for more than 20 years at China Customs, before advancing his career in several provincial administrations.

This summary was compiled based on reports by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Global Times, the Guardian and the South China Morning Post.