(Yicai Global) May 13 -- Almost half of Shanghai's major industrial enterprises have resumed production amid the city's strict Covid-19 restrictions.

More than 4,400 of the eastern city's 9,000 key industrial enterprises have returned to work, Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information, said at a press conference today.

The goal of zero cases can be achieved soon, according to the vice mayor. Shanghai is now working on a general plan to restore normal order, aiming to achieve zero new cases among people who are not in quarantine by mid-May, Wu Qing said today. Transport, as well as schools and supermarkets, should reopen gradually at that point, he added.

As expected, areas with fewer cases are getting back to normal quicker. The work resumption rate in Jinshan district is nearly 70 percent and that in Qingpu district is about 60 percent, , according to Wu Jincheng.

The group of industrial firms includes large carmakers. SAIC Motor, a state-owned automaker based in Shanghai, and Tesla have both returned to work. They are making about 2,000 vehicles per day, prompting more than 1,100 component suppliers to resume production as well, said Wu.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International, the largest wafer foundry on the mainland, is churning out chips at full speed. China's largest steel company Baoshan Iron & Steel has reached 90 percent of its normal production capacity. German chemical giant BASF's plants in Shanghai have achieved 70 percent of their full capacity.

As of yesterday, Shanghai had 227 new Covid-19 cases and 1,860 asymptomatic ones. More than 99 percent of the cases are already in quarantine, according to data disclosed today by the city's health commission.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi