Shanghai to let another 1,188 manufacturers resume production after Covid-19 cases stabilise
- The municipal government has yet to publish the names of the 1,188 manufacturers, but they will be required to operate in so-called closed loop operations
- Shanghai, the country’s most developed metropolis with 25 million people, has yet to publish a time frame for lifting the citywide lockdown that began on April 1
Shanghai will allow another 1,188 manufacturers to resume production after Covid-19 cases showed signs of stabilising following a month-long citywide lockdown.
Mainland China’s commercial and financial capital also plans to let more shops, restaurants and bank branches reopen in a step-by-step approach as it looks to get the ailing local economy back on track.
Key manufacturing businesses in the automotive, life science, chemical and semiconductor sectors will be given priority on the so-called white list as Shanghai eases virus prevention and control measures.
“We will keep guiding and supporting firms” as they resume production, said Zhang Hongtao, chief engineer with the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology. “The questions raised by companies [on how to comply with virus control rules] will be addressed.”
The municipal government has yet to publish the names of the 1,188 manufacturers, but they – along with the first batch of white listed firms that included Tesla and China’s chip champion Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp – will be required to operate in so-called closed loop operations where workers essentially sleep on site to avoid contact with outsiders.