SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- More than half of the major companies in Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei Province have resumed operation.
As of Wednesday, 88 major industrial enterprises had restarted their production lines, accounting for 52.1 of the area's total, the administrative committee of Xiongan New Area said Thursday.
Their products mainly include face masks, protective suits, daily necessities, non-ferrous metals, electric appliances and cables.
It is expected that 80.5 percent of the key companies in Xiongan would have resumed operation by the end of this month, according to the committee.
At the end of 2019, Xiongan was home to 169 key enterprises whose annual prime operating revenue is no less than 20 million yuan (about 2.97 million U.S. dollars) each.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country has brought production at industrial enterprises to a halt.
Facing a severe shortage of protective gear, raw materials and labor amid the COVID-19 epidemic, many companies are experiencing difficulties resuming production.
Authorities have called for the orderly resumption of business operations and production, the avoidance of unnecessary personnel gathering to contain the virus spread, and assistance to enterprises in solving their problems in terms of raw materials and funds.
