A worker is seen at a fiber factory in Zunhua City, north China's Hebei Province, July 16, 2020. China's economy bounced back to growth in the second quarter this year as the country gradually resumed work and production after having the COVID-19 epidemic effectively contained, official data showed Thursday. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 3.2 percent year on year in the second quarter, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

The impact of the coronavirus crisis on China's industrial economy is under control, with industrial foundations remaining positive, an official from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday. 

According to Xin Guobin, vice minister of MIIT, China's industrial economy has a long term positive outlook which will not be changed by the overall downturn of the global economy. 

Some of the most affected industries during the coronavirus crisis, including the light and textile industries, are already witnessing a rise in production and sales volumes, according to Xin. The two sectors are particularly important in providing jobs, and though both are still in contraction, the negative growth has been clearly narrowing as production resumes. 

Provinces with heavy industrial outputs have been stabilizing the overall industrial performance in the country, according to Xin. Most top 10 industrial provinces have returned to positive growth. 

The output growth of industries in East China's Shandong Province, one of the biggest industrial provinces in China, has resumed to a level similar to that seen during the same period last year. Out of the 31 provinces, 18 saw positive growth in the first half of the year, including East China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and central China's Henan Province. 

Affected by the epidemic, the output value of industries above designated scale fell sharply, dropping 13.5 percent year-on-year in the first two months. By March the year-on-year decline in industrial value added narrowed to 1.1 percent.

Over the past few months, production and sales rates have been maintained relatively well at around 98 percent, according to Xin. Market sales have clearly picked up, and business expectations are also improving. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the manufacturing industry in June registered 50.9, remaining above contraction region for four consecutive months.

Global Times