China's progress on business resumption on April 13

Amid further containment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, China is powering ahead in returning to work and resuming business and production. The following are the latest facts and figures:

— China's output of storage batteries to power new energy vehicles in March skyrocketed 396.6 percent from the previous month amid work resumption.

The output stood at 4.5 gigawatt hours, which still dropped 45.5 percent year-on-year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

— China's rural supply and marketing cooperatives have purchased a large amount of agricultural products from Hubei province to support the country's region hardest hit by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The cooperatives have purchased 625 million yuan (about $88.81 million) of farm products from Hubei as of April 9, including tea, vegetables, mushrooms and fruits, according to the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

— The State Council has approved establishing an open economy pilot zone in East China's Jiangxi province.

The construction of the pilot zone should adhere to new development concepts, persist in promoting high-quality development and focus on supply-side structural reform, according to a circular released on April 13.