Foreign trade and foreign capital are important engines of China’s economic development. The novel coronavirus epidemic has brought a huge impact on China’s foreign trade and investment, and threatened China’s pivotal position in the global supply chain. With the effective control of the epidemic in China, enterprises are speeding up the resumption of operations, and foreign trade is expected to recover soon. However, the rapid spread overseas has constituted a global epidemic and it will further drag down the global economy and bring a second blow to China’s foreign trade. For this reason, governments at all levels in China are making all efforts to promote the resumption of operations of foreign trade and foreign-funded enterprises, accelerate the landing of foreign investment, continuously optimize the business environment, and further expand opening up to the outside world, so as to stabilize the basic market of foreign trade and investment.

On April 15, 2020, Shandong Province issued a list of 32 measures to promote the steady development of foreign trade and foreign-invested enterprises. These measures mainly include phased-in reduction or exemption of social insurance, postponed payments of principal and interest of loans, and appropriate reduction of the price of electricity and gas. Enterprises affected by the epidemic can apply for deferment of housing provident fund and social insurance payments.

Weihai actively responded to the impact of the epidemic and took related measures in terms of capital subsidies, market development, credit insurance, financing, and legal services to promote the steady growth of foreign trade. With the support of a series of “hard core” policies, Weihai’s foreign trade and foreign-funded enterprises have steadily promoted production and operations, expanded the market share, and ensured that development is on the fast track.

The Weihai factory is the first to resume operations in Bekaert China. In the production workshop, workers with masks are busy, automatic intelligent steel cord production equipment is running, and products advance orderly down the production line. From February to June this year, the company will receive a 5% discount on electricity charges. From February to April, only half of the contributions to endowment insurance, unemployment insurance and employment injury insurance need to be paid. From February to December, the company only needs to partially pay medical insurance costs. With these heavyweight policies Bekaert (Shandong) has more confidence in its future development.