(Fighting new crown pneumonia) China's economic war "epidemic" record: global "mask shortage", what can China do?
China News Agency, Beijing, March 6 (Reporter Chen Kangliang) With the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic worldwide, the phenomenon of "mask shortage" has increased significantly, and many countries have begun to ban the export of masks.
According to Korean media reports, with the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in South Korea, the supply of masks has gradually become problematic. The South Korean government held an interim state conference on the 5th to finalize a plan to ensure a stable supply of masks. South Korean Prime Minister Ding Shijun said at the meeting on the same day that masks will be given priority to medical, epidemic prevention and security sites, and the remaining amount will be distributed fairly to Korean nationals. In order to prevent repeated purchases in pharmacies and post offices, the government will establish an identity verification system and in principle ban the export of masks.
Earlier, Russia, Germany and other countries also introduced export bans on masks. The Russian government website announced on the 4th that Russian Prime Minister Misukostin signed an order on the 2nd to temporarily ban the export of various medical supplies, including masks. The German Federal Government ’s inter-departmental joint crisis response team held its third meeting on the 4th and introduced a number of measures to ban the export of medical protective equipment, including masks, to strengthen epidemic prevention and control.
According to data from the World Health Organization, as of 10:00 am Central European Time (17:00 Beijing time), a total of 14,768 new coronary pneumonia cases have been diagnosed outside China, with a total of 267 deaths. Compared with the previous day, 2,098 new cases were confirmed outside China.
As the number of diagnosed patients increases, the problem of mask shortages is becoming more and more of concern. Earlier, WHO Director-General Tedsay has said that the global market has been severely disrupted. The demand for personal protective equipment such as masks is 100 times the normal level, and the price is 20 times the normal level. This shortage is further exacerbated by the widespread and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment.
Why "solve worry" may only be "capacity." From this perspective, it is inseparable from the Made in China to resolve the global "mask shortage". China is a big mask-producing country, with annual output accounting for about 50% of the world. Before the outbreak, China's largest daily production capacity of masks was more than 20 million. With the spread of this epidemic, the demand for masks has exploded, and the short-term contradiction between supply and demand has intensified.
To this end, Chinese officials and enterprises from all walks of life have made concerted efforts to prioritize the needs of mask companies in terms of labor, capital, logistics, and supply of key raw and auxiliary materials.
China's National Development and Reform Commission released news on March 2 that according to the schedule, on February 29, including ordinary masks, medical masks, medical N95 masks, the daily production capacity of masks in the country reached 110 million, and the daily output reached 116 million, respectively. 5.2 times and 12 times on February 1, further alleviating the contradiction between supply and demand of masks.
Although China's mask output has risen significantly, many analysts point out that the gap is still large. Zhang Yu, chief macro analyst of Huachuang Securities, said that the total employment of China ’s secondary and tertiary industries is 530 million. If they resume work, one person per day will need to supply 530 million masks per day. In extreme cases, only “secondary production + "Medical staff + transportation industry return to work", also requires 238 million per day.
Minsheng Securities analyst Liu Zhenyu further pointed out that the current global epidemic situation is severe. The WHO has recently raised the global risk level of the new crown pneumonia epidemic from "high" to "very high". With the development of overseas epidemics, demand for overseas masks will rise rapidly. After basically meeting China's domestic needs, Chinese masks will be exported overseas to support the global epidemic.
China is a big country in the production and export of masks. According to official data, China's annual export volume of masks is stable at more than 70% of the production scale. It is worth noting that foreign media have previously reported that China banned the export of medical masks and raw materials required for production due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, leaving other countries and regions facing shortages of masks.
In this regard, Li Xinggan, director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said on the 5th that China has not set up any trade control measures on masks and is willing to provide assistance within the capabilities of relevant countries in terms of medical protective materials such as masks. (Finish)