Auto and electronic sectors back on track in Wuhan

By CUI JIA in Beijing and Liu Kun in Wuhan | chinadaily.com.cn Updated: April 5, 2020

Workers on a production line at Wuhan Changjiang Optics Electron Co Ltd wear facial masks while working. [Photo by Chen Liang/ for chinadaily.com.cn]

Major automobile and electronic product manufactures in Wuhan, Hubei province, have all resumed productions after the novel coronavirus epidemic has been effectively contained, vice-mayor of the city said.

The city has been helping major automobile manufactures including Dongfeng Honda and electronic product manufactures such as Foxconn, a key supplier for Apple, to resume production. Support has also been given to manufactures that are crucial to the world's supply chain security, Hu Yabo, executive vice-mayor of Wuhan, said at a news conference held in the city on Sunday.

Transportation of workers, logistics and funding issues are the key obstacles for companies to resume business and production. As a result, many businesses are finding it difficult to reach full production capacity. The government will draft tailor-made plans to help businesses get through the tough time, Hu added.

"We've also been focusing on getting project with investment of over 100 million yuan ($14 million) back on track. By April 4, 1,006 those projects with a total investment of 2.4 trillion yuan in Wuhan have resumed operations," Hu said.

The number counts for nearly 76 percent of such projects in the city. Of them, 190 are industrial projects while 394 are in the area of real estate. Meanwhile, 79 new major projects will kick off soon, Meng Wukang, director of the Wuhan Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said at the news conference.

As more and more businesses and major projects resume, the city will particularly attach great importance to epidemic control at workplaces to ensure the virus does not start to spread again. So far, not a single case of infection has been reported from workplace, Hu said.