27.03.202003:36:00UTC+00Covid-19 Control Measures Weigh On China's Industrial Profits

China's industrial profits plunged at the start of the year as coronavirus, or covid-19, epidemic weighed heavily on economic activity, data publish by the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.

Industrial profits declined sharply by 38.3 percent during January to February period from the same period last year.

Profits of state-owned firms declined 32.9 percent and that of private firms decreased 36.6 percent.

Amid epidemic control measures, production as well as sales declined considerably. Moreover, labor cost and depreciation further squeezed profits.

The sudden outbreak of coronavirus has severely impacted the production and operation of industrial enterprises, NBS official Zhang Weihua, said.

Zhang said the domestic epidemic situation has been effectively controlled and the production is resuming.