Farming activities

The county of Qingxu is well prepared for farming activities this spring.

According to Xingxu's agricultural bureau, local agricultural service companies now have 300 metric tons of seeds, 6,000 tons of fertilizers and more than 1,300 farming machines in place to help farmers begin their work.

"We require these companies to send disease-prevention messages to farmers while offering farming-related services," a local agricultural official said.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia in December, authorities in Shanxi have held several meetings, drafting plans to ensure both disease control and normalization of business activities.

According to the Shanxi Provincial Industrial and Information Department, more than 44 percent of the local businesses above designated scale－with an annual sales revenue surpassing 20 million yuan ($2.86 million)－have resumed their operations.

At a plant of the Taiyuan-based Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group, workers are busy producing train wheels.

According to Li Haitao, deputy general manager of Taiyuan Rail Transit Equipment, a subsidiary of the group, his company can produce more than one train wheel a minute.

"The products will be delivered to more than 50 countries according to our orders secured last year," Li said.

"At this critical moment, we have implemented the strictest protective measures to ensure the health of our workers and the smooth delivery of products," he added.

Li said the company's exports have not been disrupted by the epidemic. They are securing more orders for 2020.

"During the first two months, the value of our new overseas orders increased about 10 percent compared with the same period last year," Li said.