New energy vehicles are seen on the assembly line at Xi'an plant of BYD Auto in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, June 12, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

The spread of COVID-19 worldwide is causing growing concerns. Governments in Japan and Republic of Korea have ramped up emergency response measures. In Europe, the number of confirmed cases in Italy has exceeded 220 and is likely to rise further. Iran has become the most vulnerable country in the Middle East. Due to longstanding sanctions by Western countries, its poor medical facilities and conditions will inevitably lead to a higher mortality rate.

Beijing is aware that an important prerequisite for effective response to the epidemic is to maintain economic and social development, and coordinated efforts are needed to address the two major challenges, simultaneously. Except for Hubei Province, other provinces in China have seen tens of millions of factories resuming work and production. As a result, important medical supplies such as masks can be produced in full capacity.

The Chinese government is also working to reduce the negative impact of the epidemic on the economy through measures such as crisis management, additional liquidity and more proactive fiscal policies. Local authorities have also adopted a series of measures to help companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to survive the crisis. China's economic activity is recovering significantly.

In fact, a strategy to run the epidemic control and economic growth in parallel is also urgently needed by the entire world, and international cooperation should be carried out on the two aspects.