Resumption of Operations at Chinese Factories Halted by Novel Coronavirus... Why Is It Not Going Smoothly?

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, business activities and factory operations in China, which had come to an 'all-stop' after the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), were legally resumed for the most part on the 10th. However, many people are still reluctant to return to daily life, and since it is difficult to meet the conditions necessary for factory operations, it is expected to take more time before normal operations are fully restored.

According to diplomatic sources in Beijing on the 10th, it is practically difficult for companies and factories in China to resume work at a normal level starting from this day. The diplomatic source said, "Most companies are resuming operations from today, but employees must undergo a 14-day quarantine period after returning to their residence before going to the office or factory," adding, "For these reasons, many postpone the resumption date to after the 17th rather than restarting operations immediately today. It will take more time until full resumption of operations."

The diplomatic source also pointed out that the strict conditions for resuming operations imposed by the local jurisdictions overseeing companies and factories are one of the reasons why normal economic activities in China are difficult.

He explained, "In principle, factory operations can resume from today, but most cases require confirmation and approval that safety requirements related to quarantine are secured first," adding, "Even if the central or provincial government approves, without approval from lower-level local authorities, resumption of operations is impossible. The most important condition for resuming operations is ensuring safety, but since each local government has different standards and some regions impose very strict and stringent conditions, there are many difficulties in restarting work."

The diplomatic source added, "Some companies related to our businesses could not resume operations today because they failed to properly procure quarantine supplies such as masks," and "Since the Chinese government also controls the supply of materials, support from our government side is quite limited."

On the same day, China's state-run Global Times also reported that a considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises in China would find it difficult to resume operations as scheduled on the 10th. To operate factories, companies must prepare masks, disinfectants, thermometers, etc., according to government policies, but there is a shortage of supplies. It was explained that many factories are facing difficulties in resuming operations from the 10th due to the lack of protective equipment.

A glass manufacturing factory manager in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, said, "It is impossible to operate the factory on the 10th because the necessary preparation requirements for restarting the factory have not been met," explaining, "According to government requirements, during the period from the 10th to the 17th, each worker must be provided with a quarantine room, thermometer, disinfectant, and mask, but this is a difficult situation." An executive of a company with a factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, also explained, "Thousands of small and medium-sized electronic product manufacturing factories in Guangdong Province have extended their factory shutdowns for an additional week starting from this day."

Despite the Chinese government's directive to resume operations, ongoing regional quarantine situations and partial lockdowns in some major cities to prevent the spread of infection are also among the reasons why the normal recovery of economic activities in China is difficult.

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), partial regional lockdowns are being implemented not only in Guangdong Province, which has the second-highest number of confirmed cases after Hubei Province, but also in major cities such as Tianjin, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, and Hangzhou. Xiao Yu, chief economist at Shanghai Orient Securities, analyzed, "Lockdowns occurring in all offices and communities mean that production capacity will not return to normal," adding, "If such lockdown measures continue or prolong until the end of February, the impact on the economy, especially the service industry, will become more apparent."

For normal work resumption on this day, population movement via railways was expected to be active over the weekend, but as of Saturday the 8th, the number of railway passengers was only 1.27 million, showing an 85% decrease compared to the return period after the Spring Festival one year ago. Chinese railway authorities estimated that railway passengers on the 9th also decreased by about 82% compared to the same period last year, with approximately 2 million passengers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.