Beijing's projects resume construction, more workers back

All 2,130 work-in-progress projects above designated size in Beijing had resumed construction by Friday, with on-site staff of about 338,000 people, according to data from the municipal Development and Reform Commission on Saturday.

Li Sufang, deputy head of the commission, said at a press conference that up to 3,007 industrial enterprises above designated size out of the total number of 3,010 in Beijing have resumed operation.

Meanwhile, about 95 percent of commercial buildings in Beijing have resumed work.

In Chaoyang district, where 1,122 commercial buildings are located, 47,000 companies have resumed work, accounting for 93 percent of the total.

During the first two months this year, 22 companies had paid over 100 million ($14 million) yuan in tax each, five more compared with same period last year.

To provide targeted support for industries and medium, small and micro-sized companies hit hard by the outbreak, the city has reduced the value-added tax collection rate to 1 percent for small-scale taxpayers, which helped them save 26.11 billion yuan. The VAT exemption also has been given to enterprises engaged in providing daily necessities and transporting essential material support for epidemic control efforts, which has saved them 430 million yuan.

Beijing also focused on easing the labor crunch, promoting the coordinated resumption of industrial chain production and financing.

Beijing has organized group transportation to get employees in North China's Hebei and 13 other provinces back to Beijing for work.

In addition, online bank-enterprise connection platforms have been set up to meet the credit needs of enterprises and offer better financial support.