On May 25th and 26th, Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin publishes an signature article titled Chinese Economy Rebounds Despite Trials and Hardships for the China Focus Column on Al-Intibah and Khartoum Today. The full text is as follows:
The first quarter of 2020 is unusual for Chinese economy, as the major economic indicators have notably declined due to the unprecedented impact caused by the sudden COVID-19 outbreak on China's economic and social development. However, China's economy has shown hints of recovery since March. On the whole, the Chinese economy has withstood the stress test of the COVID-19 epidemic, well poised to keep the momentum of sound and stable growth in the long run. And the tendency among Chinese enterprises to transform and upgrade themselves remains unchanged.
Macro-control measures add strong impetus to Chinese economy. To counter the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government has strengthened macro policy regulation to stabilize economic fundamentals and help businesses overcome difficulties in a timely fashion. China has introduced massive tax and fee cuts worth more than one trillion yuan, injected 550 billion yuan of liquidity to aid enterprises in resuming economic activities, released investment plans for major new infrastructure projects focused in seven areas, extended pilot free trade zones from coastal areas to inland cities to expand opening up, and scaled up credit support to small and micro private businesses in trouble. These stimulus policies will unleash tremendous potential and strong momentum for economic and social development and are bound to create new opportunities and drivers for China's economic growth.
Accelerated resumption of work and production gives an edge in economic recovery. On the premise of ensuring all epidemic prevention and control work is done well, the Chinese government has taken targeted measures to advance the resumption of work and production among enterprises in a steady and orderly manner, in a bid to steer the economy back to stable growth. As early as February 20, 2020, about 97.08% of the top 500 enterprises in China's manufacturing have resumed work and production. As the epidemic situation at home has been brought under control, businesses across the nation speed up the resumption of their economic activities, hitting the reset button for economic and social development. At present, businesses are getting back to normal, with almost 100% of them reopened and approximately 100% of their employees returning to work. In April, the value added of high technology manufacturing saw 10.5-percent year-on-year growth, up by 1.6% from the prior month, and China's yuan-denominated exports increased by 8.2% year on year to 1.41 trillion yuan. All of these indicate signs of economic recovery.
New forms of business and emerging industries generate vigor for economic growth. In the midst of epidemic prevention and control, online business and industrial transformation and upgrading are flourishing. Emerging technologies such as 5G applications, cloud computing and artificial intelligence that underpin the "cloud economy" have played an important part in the containment of the epidemic. Online work services, unmanned delivery, online classes and other new forms of business facilitate the process to resume businesses and classes. "Stay-at-home economy", livestreaming e-commerce and other novel consumption patterns are booming. And the internet of things, block chain, data centers and other areas of new infrastructure have experienced explosive growth. The value added of information transmission, software and information technology service sectors jumped by 13.2% in the first quarter, contributing 0.6 percentage point to the GDP growth. In the first four months of this year, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 8.6% from a year ago, the proportion of which in the total retail sales of consumer goods is 5.5 percentage points higher than the last year's figure. New online offerings have become a fresh growth driver for China's economic development.
The accumulating internal growth momentum sustains economic growth prospects. The COVID-19 epidemic only affects the Chinese economy in a temporary and limited manner. The internal growth momentum that underpins middle- and long-term growth of China's economy remains unchanged. Major industries that have a bearing on the national economy and people's livelihoods, including agriculture, energy, raw materials and information, proceed with production. Investment in emergency supplies, medical care and health care soars. The production and sale of goods closely related to people's daily life remain prosperous. With strong demands generated by urbanization, China, home to 1.4 billion people and a middle-income population of over 400 million, still enjoys tremendous potential and demands in its domestic market. Meanwhile, strong supporting industries, rich talent pool, and advanced logistics and 5G communication architecture will all set a strong basis for the development of the Chinese economy. Furthermore, China remains a major engine of global economic growth and will continue to play its role as a global factory and a global market to keep global industrial and supply chains safe and open. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Chinese economy will see a strong rebound of 9.2% in 2021, the highest among all economies. All of these showcase the Chinese economy's resilience and dynamics.
China and Sudan are strategic partners that share weal and woe and pursue win-win cooperation. "Like the mountain range that stretches before you and me, let's share the same trials and hardships together". At this critical juncture as Sudan is facing triple tasks of epidemic response, political transition and economic transformation and China is forging ahead with regular epidemic prevention and control and measures aimed at stabilizing economy and safeguarding people's livelihoods, China is ready to join hands with Sudan through solidarity and mutual assistance to fight the virus, tide over the difficult times and seek common development. China will continue to provide assistance to the best of its capabilities to Sudan in pandemic response, livelihood and development, expand economic and trade exchanges and actively promote demonstration projects for the benefits of locals. It will also assist Sudan with development of its resource strengths by constantly expanding bilateral cooperation in agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, infrastructure, public health and other areas and working hard on the development of regional economies such as those bordering the Red Sea and the Nile, in an effort to open up new possibilities for economic cooperation and growth between China and Sudan.