China attempts to restart economic activity by exempting companies from lockdown measures

Beijing [China], April 21 : The Chinese authorities have initiated steps, in order to restore the supply chains and restart economic activity by exempting companies from strict lockdown restrictions, local media reported.
China has been drawing up "white lists" of companies that can resume production and operations on an immediate basis.
The supply chains of the country that were already heavily stressed after the initial waves of COVID-19 in the last 2 years, were severely impacted in the worst pandemic wave to hit the country till now. The situation was not helped by the Chinese 'zero covid' policy under which even a few cases would lead to severe lockdown restrictions on a large area.
Under the recent policy, the Government authorities are identifying businesses from different sectors deemed strategically important for the Chinese economy that can be exempted from certain lockdown restrictions.
In this regard, the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology on April 15 drew a list of 666 companies mainly from the automobile, semiconductor and energy sectors, to resume production under specified conditions, viz., one-shift operation and reduced working hours, the media reports said.
China's decision to place around 45 cities, contributing 40 per cent of the country's GDP, under partial lockdown and 90 per cent of the top 100 cities under one or another form of restrictions has created challenges for the economy and seriously affected the supply chain.
By allowing key producers to function, China is aiming to reduce the impact of lockdown measures, the reports said.