The economic impact of the latest Omicron resurgence will mainly appear in the second quarter of the year, with GDP growth rate forecast to be around 2.1 percent, a former central bank official said on Monday, calling for accelerated implementation of supportive fiscal policies and a wide array of monetary policies to bolster the recovery of economic and social activities.To get more latest china economy news, you can visit shine news official website.

"The Chinese economy has run better than expected in the first two months of the year, but the COVID-19 flare-ups bring new challenges for an economy that has been on track to a recovery," Sheng Songcheng, former director general of the Financial Survey and Statistics Department at the People's Bank of China, said in an article published on Shanghai Securities News on Monday.

This round of outbreak affects not only services but also the manufacturing sector, he said, noting that the disruption in supply chains in the manufacturing center of the Yangtze River Delta region affects the normal operation of economic and social activities, adds pressure to employment and decelerates the recovery of consumption.
According to the newspaper, about 92 percent of the 667 listed companies surveyed said that they have been affected by the Omicron outbreak, of which 37.18 percent said the impact is "heavy."
However, Sheng noted that domestic economy will record remarkable improvement in the second half of the year, as macro-economic policies will be timely implemented in regions less affected by the latest outbreak to fire up economic activities.

Sheng advised the authorities to remove impediments to the smooth flow of industrial and supply chains as soon as possible, and promote resumption of production and businesses with a variety of measures like effectively putting the virus under control and expanding vaccination.

By sticking to the principle that is housing for living in, not for speculation, Sheng said that local governments should appropriately list restrictions to support stringent needs.

The implementation of positive fiscal policies should quicken and monetary policies should be adopted by considering internal and external situations to ease the spillover effect of the US tightening monetary policies and imported inflation pressure, according to Sheng.

China's economy maintained a steady recovery over the first quarter this year, with GDP growing 4.8 percent year-on-year to 27.02 trillion yuan ($4.03 trillion) in the first quarter of 2022, quickening from a 4-percent increase in the fourth quarter last year.

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on April 29 confirmed that the established policies will be swiftly implemented, including tax refunds and reductions, fee cuts and a range of monetary policy tools.

China's health authorities have approved a Covid vaccine from state-owned Sinopharm for general use on the population, the government has announced.To get more sinopharm news today, you can visit shine news official website.

At a press conference in Beijing a state taskforce announced the vaccine had exceeded World Health Organization standards and would help establish effective immunity in China.

Health officials said vulnerable groups would be prioritised ahead of the general population. Key groups have already been receiving vaccines under emergency approvals, including about a million receiving the Sinopharm vaccine.

Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the national health commission, said it was aiming for 60-70% vaccination coverage, which was expected to establish herd immunity. "As the Chinese vaccine is proved to be safe and effective, we would like to encourage our people to participate on a voluntary and informed basis, and with consent," he said.The officials did not give specific dates but said the rollout would begin "soon" at a "significantly reduced" cost.

Zheng Zhongwei, head of the vaccine research and development working group, said the vaccine was a public good and the cost of production was "the only basis for pricing".Zeng then added that the vaccine "must be provided free of charge for all people", and state media subsequently reported that the vaccine will be free.

Sinopharm is a state-owned pharmaceutical company with two vaccine candidates among China's five experimental treatments in international final stage trials. Public statements about Sinopharm vaccines do not appear to clarify which of the two candidates is being discussed.

The approval followed an announcement on Wednesday by Sinopharm that phase 3 trials had found its vaccine to be 79% effective. This followed trials conducted in the UAE reporting 86% efficacy earlier in December. The vaccines have not been trialled in China because the virus is not prevalent enough, authorities say.Chinese vaccine developers have not released trial data. On Thursday a health official said the Sinopharm data would be published "later" in Chinese and foreign medical journals.

At an annual meeting of health workers on 22 December, Zhang Wenhong, head of infectious diseases at Fundan University's Huasha hospital, said there was apprehension among Chinese people about the domestically produced vaccine, and party leaders should be vaccinated first to reassure the public. A recording of his comments spread quickly on Chinese social media before it was censored.

Sinopharm and rival developer Sinovac have created their vaccines via the more traditional method of using an inactive virus to trigger an immune response. They are more difficult to manufacture quickly than other types and have the potential to cause an imbalanced immune response, but have shown historic success.

Mao Junfeng, head of consumer products at China's industry ministry, said vaccine producers had ramped up production capacity. "We believe China's vaccine production will meet the demand for large scale vaccination, and looking ahead the ministry will follow the plans [of the central government] ... and help enterprises expand production capacity and make sure a smooth production and supply chain will provide effective and accessible vaccines for the people."

In September the UAE was the first country outside China to approve emergency use of a Sinopharm vaccine. It has since been made available in Bahrain and shipped to Egypt, while Morocco is planning to rely on it to vaccinate 80% of its adult population. Other countries have signed on to receive the Sinovac vaccine, China's other domestically produced frontrunner. In October China announced it was joining Covax, the international initiative aimed at ensuring equitable global access to vaccines.