Baotou in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region has made significant progress in its return to work and production, with more than 93 percent of the city’s manufacturers above a designated scale – those with annual turnover of 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) or more – resuming operations in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report in the Baotou Daily.

Data released by the Baotou statistics showed that the added value of the manufacturers above a designated scale in the city increased by 5.8 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2020.

Analysts pointed out that compared with private companies and small and medium-sized enterprises that produce consumer products, the large State-owned enterprises in Baotou city were relatively less affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic.

They said that at present, the output value of the steel, aluminum, and power industries accounts for some 60 percent of Baotou’s industrial economy – of which the output value of large-scale enterprises and State-owned companies exceeded 50 percent of the city’s industrial economy.

In response to the impact of the epidemic, Baotou city has formulated a series of measures to help businesses resume output in an orderly and efficient manner.

The city has carried out periodic reductions and exemptions for the contribution by companies to their employee pensions, unemployment and work injury insurance.

Also, the city investigated the work and production resumption requirements of Baotou-based enterprises and offered different solutions, as well as increased support for secured loans.

Small and micro enterprises that have temporarily lost income due to the epidemic are being given preferential interest support when applying for a secured loan.

Enterprises engaged in the production of materials for epidemic prevention and control and in the security of people's livelihoods will have priority in fund allocations.