China sees no major movement of industrial and supply chains to other countries due to epidemic

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China has not seen any major movement of industrial and supply chains from it to other countries due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wednesday.

The international community still has confidence in China's economic prospects and the resilience of its industrial and supply chains, said spokesperson Geng Shuang at a press conference when responding to a query about concerns that the industrial or supply chains may leave the country or global industrial and supply chains may be disrupted following the spread of COVID-19 in the world.

"The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on China's economy is short-lived and limited. The fundamentals sustaining sound economic growth in the long term remain unchanged, so do the factors underpinning high-quality development," Geng stressed.

Geng noted that China has the largest, most diversified and best equipped manufacturing system in the world, which makes it an important link in global supply and industrial chains.

While fighting the epidemic, China has also been making coordinated efforts in economic and social development. As the epidemic prevention and control in China continues to improve recently, major industries and enterprises including foreign-funded ones are gradually resuming work and production, and China's social production and economic operations are gradually returning to normal. Such timely resumption of work and production protects and supports the stability and security of global industrial and supply chains.

"It is fair to say that China's performance once again demonstrates China's strength and sense of responsibility," Geng said.

The era of globalization means deeply integrated interests and highly intertwined industrial and supply chains. In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is neither realistic nor wise to try to sever them or even trumpet "shifting" or "decoupling," the spokesperson said.

"There are many discussions on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the world economic outlook. I think it mainly depends on how many countries will be affected and how long it will last, which comes down to the response of countries involved," Geng said. "In tough times, it is all the more important for the international community to stay united and make concerted efforts to overcome the disease at an early date, restore normal state-to-state exchange and cooperation, and bring the world economy back to the normal track."