China’s New Economy Sees Growth While Helping Fight Against Epidemic

　　THE novel coronavirus epidemic mayhave temporarily affected economicactivities across China. However,many tech companies and Internet firms areplaying their parts in the fight against theepidemic and contributing to the growth ofthe country’s economy.

　　Some tech companies have brought theirnewest medical products and services to joinin the fight against the virus and many Internetfirms have seen strong business growthduring this period.

　　Medical Equipment

　　To aid the fight against the virus, leadingsoftware developer Neusoft developed a typeof remote CT equipment in just seven days.

　　“The equipment can quickly diagnoseusing AI computing and reduce contactbetween medical workers and patients,” saidLiu Jiren, chairman of Neusoft.

　　Over the past few years, Neusoft has beenseeking to empower the health care industrywith information technology. “The epidemichas made us more determined in ourbusiness strategy and we will develop andmanufacture more medical equipment thatis deeply integrated with Internet technology,”Liu said.

　　Robots are also joining the fight to reducecross-infection risks and improve efficiency.

　　Siasun, a leading robot manufacturer,has rolled out medical delivery robots andelectric adjustable beds.

　　With advanced technologies such aslaser positioning, intelligent navigation,and human-computer interaction, medicaldelivery robots can help health workersspray disinfectants and hand out medicineto patients. The electric adjustable beds allowinfected patients to eat in bed and assistthem to sit up and roll over.

　　Siasun is also developing a robot that canreplace nurses in conducting throat testingfor the virus.

　　Siasun president Qu Daokui said apartfrom maintaining a leading position inindustrial robots, the company will developnew products for health and elderly care tonurture new business growth drivers.

　　Fresh Food E-commerce

　　E-commerce platforms, particularlyonline fresh food retailers, reported markedbusiness growth as people are asked to stayat home to avoid potential infection whenshopping at crowded brick-and-mortarstores.

　　Fresh food delivery app Missfresh sawsales soar 3.5 times year on year during thenine-day Spring Festival holiday, while thefresh food subsidiary of e-commerce giantJD.com saw sales surge 2.15 times.

　　To cope with business growth and laborshortages, tech giant Alibaba’s Freshhema, afresh food retailer that offers delivery service,came up with the idea of “sharing employees”with restaurants and ride-sharing firms hardhit by the coronavirus outbreak.

　　Fresh food online platforms are also helpingfruit and vegetable growers in the remotecountryside whose sales were stalled by theepidemic.

　　“Our strawberries now sell well on theseplatforms and we no longer have to worryabout the sales,” said Ma Yandong, head ofthe local strawberry-growing associationin the city of Donggang in the northeasternprovince of Liaoning.

　　Sales in the country’s largest strawberrygrowingbase were once stalled because ofthe epidemic. “Many of our rural cooperativesare no longer accepting new orders asthey now worry about the supply shortages,”said Ma.

　　Cloud Technology

　　Cloud-related services, from cloud educationto remote medical consultation andcloud working, also saw rapid growth amidthe epidemic.

　　School openings after the Chinese LunarNew Year holiday were postponed due to theepidemic, but online class services are helpingminimize the impact.

　　On the first day of the spring semester onFebruary 10, a large number of primary andmiddle school students across the countrytook online lessons at home.

　　By February 10, schools in 300 citiesnationwide have joined the cloud classprogram of Alibaba’s communication appDingTalk, benefiting 50 million students.

　　Remote medical consultation servicesare also bustling as they can help preventcross-infections and ease pressure on hospitals.More than 10 major hospitals in Hefei,capital of the eastern province of Anhui,have launched free online medical consultationservices for patients with fevers afterthe province launched its top public healthemergency response on January 24.

　　Internet medical platforms have alsoreported a surge in online services. WeDoctor,which provides online access to licenseddoctors, said doctors received more than100,000 consultations on the platform onthe first day of the lunar year. All patientsfrom across China can access free medicalconsultation services on the platform amidthe novel coronavirus outbreak, according tothe company.

　　Cloud technology also helps minimize theimpact on the resumption of work after theholiday. DingTalk said it has served 200 millionstaff workers from more than 10 millionenterprises and organizations as of February3. To meet the huge demand in peak hours,DingTalk has added over 20,000 temporaryservers and expanded bandwidth to enhanceits calculation capacity.

　　The epidemic has brought challenges aswell as opportunities for corporate innovation,said Daniel Zhang, chairman andchief executive officer of tech giant AlibabaGroup.

　　“We are fully confident in the digitalizationprocess of the Chinese economy andsociety and are ready to lay a more solidfoundation for Alibaba’s long-term growth,”Zhang said. During the epidemic, an increasingnumber of consumers choose and aregrowing accustomed to the digital life andwork styles, he added.

　　Liu Qingfeng, chairman of China’s majorartificial intelligence (AI) company iFlytekthat also offers cloud classes, expected thecoming of the AI era.

　　“Like water and electricity, AI will enteralmost all industries including education,medical care, finance, transport and smartcities in the next five to 10 years,” Liu said. C(Source: Xinhua)