Aerial photo shows a landmark lit up to pay tribute to people making efforts to fight against the recent resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic in north China's Tianjin, Jan. 13, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

 
Foreign companies based in north China's Tianjin Municipality are hoping for a smooth resumption of production following the recent local outbreak of COVID-19.

An important manufacturing base for foreign firms such as Boeing, the city has stepped up efforts to protect local operations and the stability of industrial chains, though some foreign companies still face challenges, the Global Times learned on Tuesday.

US plane maker Boeing said on Tuesday that a small number of staff at its composite parts factory in Tianjin had been affected by community level lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. But the plant is "maintaining a normal level of operation," Boeing China said in a response to the Global Times on Tuesday.

Toyota told the Global Times on Tuesday that production at its joint-venture car making plant in virus-hit Tianjin is still suspended.

Due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak, both FAW-VW's vehicle plant and VW Automatic Transmission Tianjin have been shut down since last Monday. Both plants conducted Covid-19 testing twice for all employees last week.

"We hope to resume operating very soon and catch up on lost production. The top priority remains the health and well-being of our employees," Volkswagen Group China said in a response to the Global Times last week.

Since the recent outbreak, Tianjin Industrial and Information Technology Bureau has set up 16 special work teams to protect the supply chain for production enterprises.

As of Monday, the bureau has solved 527 problems involving raw materials, finished product transportation and labor restrictions for 212 enterprises, including Great Wall Motors, SMIC, Denso and Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

Tianjin reported 18 new local cases on Tuesday and a total of 312 locally confirmed COVID-19 cases from the current cluster.

The number of infections has dropped significantly due to preventative measures such as mass testing and restrictions on the movement of people, as well as suspension of gathering activities, according to the local authorities on Tuesday.