CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Monday, February 22, 2021 | 3 CHINA Welcome back Briefly Virus fight in GUIZHOU Former political adviser investigated A former senior political adviser in Guizhou province is being investigated for suspected seri- ‘late stage of ous violations of Party disciplina- ry rules and national laws, the top anti-graft bodies said on Sun- day. Wang Fuyu, former chair- man of the Guizhou Provincial suppression’ Committee of the Chinese Peo- ple’s Political Consultative Con- ference, is being investigated by the Communist Party of China’s China CDC chief warns emergence of Central Commission for Disci- pline Inspection and the Nation- variants means uncertainties remain al Supervisory Commission. By WANG XIAODONG and port cities such as Qingdao, YUNNAN [email protected] Shandong province, and Dalian, 5 dead, 1 injured in Liaoning province, since April, they three-car accident China has entered the “late stage of have all been put under control suppression” of the COVID-19 pan- effectively by strategies such as Five people were killed and one demic after a year’s efforts, said Gao mass virus testing, extensive contact person injured in a road acci- Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for tracing and isolation of confirmed dent in Huaning county, Yuxi, Disease Control and Prevention. cases and their close contacts. Yunnan province, on Saturday, But while COVID-19 vaccines The latest large-scale local out- the local publicity department have raised hopes that life will get breaks of COVID-19, which hit rural said. The accident occurred at back to normal soon, many uncer- areas of Hebei province and some about 6 pm when three cars Dressed in costumes, the principal and teachers at a primary school welcome students in Nanjing, tainties remain about the evolution parts of Northeast China over the rear-ended in the county. The Jiangsu province, on Sunday as they return for the new semester. Primary and secondary schools in of the pandemic this year, confront- winter, resulted in more than 2,000 injured person has been sent to the city will begin the new semester on Monday. SHAO DAN / FOR CHINA DAILY ing humanity with new challenges, total cases, Gao said. The outbreaks hospital for treatment for inju- Gao said. have been successfully controlled ries that are not considered life- “Through one year’s efforts, dif- after unremitting efforts, he said. threatening. Investigations are ferent countries around the world Meanwhile, a mass vaccination continuing. achieved varying results in pandem- campaign this year is expected to ic control. In some countries like help bring the epidemic further GUANGDONG China, the pandemic has been well under control in China, raising Policy: Govt bond quotas likely lower 240 tons of imported controlled, while in other countries hopes of getting life back to normal solid waste returned the situation is still grim,” Gao said soon, Gao said. From page 1 around 5 trillion yuan this year, down to 12.2 percent year-on-year in an editorial published in China By Feb 3, 31 million doses of inac- compared with a surge to 8.5 tril- by the end of 2021 from 13 percent Guangzhou customs in Guang- CDC Weekly on Friday. tivated COVID-19 vaccines had been Thanks to the domestic econom- lion yuan in 2020, in order to con- in January. dong province has shipped back No new domestically transmitted administered in China, targeting ic recovery, the government’s fiscal trol the overall government debt The People’s Bank of China, the two batches of imported solid confirmed COVID-19 cases have high-risk groups such as front-line revenue growth rebounded signifi- level, Ding predicted. central bank, said in its latest waste to its place of origin, the been reported on the Chinese main- health workers, cold-chain industry cantly to 17.4 percent year-on-year The government debt ratio rose quarterly monetary policy report General Administration of Cus- land since Feb 15, according to the employees and people working or in December from a decline of 2.7 to 45.6 percent of GDP at the end that there should be more focus toms said on Friday. Intercepted National Health Commission. Only studying overseas, he said. percent in November. But for the of 2020, up from 38.5 percent by on monitoring policy rates, during an inspection, the gar- seven new imported confirmed cas- “As vaccination started smoothly whole year of 2020, fiscal revenue 2019, the fastest expansion since which indicate real conditions in bage, weighing 240 metric tons, es were reported on Saturday, it said. and progressed as scheduled, the growth on a yearly basis still the first report of the leverage the financial market. The major was identified as a mixture of China initiated a national cam- China CDC has been closely moni- recorded a drop of 3.9 percent ratio, according to research from interest rates have remained zinc oxide and zinc-blended paign against COVID-19 immediate- toring vaccination coverage and because of the severe effects of the the National Institution for basically unchanged this year, a leftovers. Combined with dirt, ly after identifying the novel adverse events following immuniza- pandemic. That came after growth Finance and Development, a signal that the PBOC is maintain- coal cinder and unoxidized met- coronavirus in January last year. In tion,” he said. “The data shows that of 3.8 percent in 2019, according to national financial think tank ing a neutral stance for monetary al, it would have posed a threat the following three months it won a the reported rate of serious adverse the Ministry of Finance. under the Chinese Academy of policy, neither loose nor tight, to the environment when proc- decisive victory in epidemic control events is no higher than that of the In an earlier interview, Finance Social Sciences. said analysts. essed. in Hubei province, including its cap- influenza vaccine, reflecting the fact Minister Liu Kun discussed the In addition, experts from the On Saturday, the PBOC reported ital Wuhan, the Chinese city hit that the currently used inactivated idea of setting the fiscal deficit International Monetary Fund sug- the benchmark lending rate, the BEIJING hardest by COVID-19, Gao said. COVID-19 vaccines are safe.” ratio and the scale of local govern- gested that China pay more atten- one-year loan prime rate, at 3.85 Surge in applications Since then, China has been carry- Despite the promise of mass vacci- ment special bonds “at reasonable tion to the already large and percent, which was unchanged for online mediation ing out an effective suppression nation, many uncertainties remain levels”, which would guarantee a growing funding gaps between since May 2020. strategy by establishing a strong this year due to the unpredictable certain level of spending but at the local governments’ revenues and Although monetary policy is Nearly 5.2 million disputes were and flexible response mechanism, nature of the novel coronavirus and same time keep the macro lever- expenditures, which can be becoming normalized, the LPR is resolved on China’s online medi- implementing or lifting control the emergence of new variants of the age level basically stable. bridged through transfers from likely to stay at the current level, ation platform last year, with a measures based on the results of virus that may lead to increased trans- Ding Shuang, chief economist the central government and other and the PBOC will prefer to use success rate of 65 percent, saving surveillance and risk assessment in missibility and toxicity, Gao said. for China and North Asia at Stan- financing sources. policy tools such as open market more people the bother of going different regions, he said. “When facing a new virus, dard Chartered financial services “Continued policy support is operations, medium-term lending to court, the Supreme People’s Although scattered outbreaks humanity still needs to keep doing company in Hong Kong, said he needed to secure the recovery, facility, relending and rediscount Court said. Mediation applica- have occurred in some places, research and develop a deeper calculated that China’s fiscal stim- with the policy mix calibrated to to maintain market liquidity at a tions have surged since the ser- including Beijing and Shanghai, understanding of it,” he said. ulus package in 2020 helped lift strengthen private demand and balanced level, said Ming Ming, a vice was launched in early 2018, GDP growth by 2.5 percentage address financial vulnerabilities,” senior analyst at CITIC Securities. the top court said. The country’s points, and local governments still IMF experts wrote in a report in Nomura’s Lu predicted neither 3,502 courts have all opened had unused fiscal budgetary funds January. hikes nor cuts to policy rates and mediation services on the plat- Two sessions checkup of up to 2.5 trillion yuan at the They expected China’s fiscal pol- the reserve requirement ratio, the form, and 32,937 mediation beginning of this year. That, Ding icy to remain “broadly neutral” amount of cash that financial organizations have moved in, said, made the central government while monetary policy remains institutions must hold in reserve bringing the number of online reluctant to designate a new bond “supportive” in 2021, though less in the central bank, in the near mediators to 165,333, senior quota before the two sessions. so than in 2020. They also expect- term. He also said he expected a court official Qian Xiaochen The quotas of government ed the growth of total social relatively stable renminbi said. bonds, both at central and local financing — all financing sources exchange rate against a basket of levels, are likely to be lowered to for the real economy — to slow major currencies.