It is too early to conclude that the world has entered a financial crisis, Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the people's Bank of China, said at a press conference yesterday. The current valuation level of China's stock market is at a historic low, and investment value has thus emerged, noted Li Chao, vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The rate of resumption of operations among China's industrial enterprises above the designated size of CNY20 million (USD2.82 million) has soared, China's National Development and Reform Commission announced on March 17. Aside from hard-hit provinces such as Hubei, the restart proportion of other provinces, regions and cities has exceeded 90 percent and Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Guangxi, Chongqing, are nearing 100 percent, it added.

The loan prime rate for one-year loans this month is 4.05 percent, and the LPR of five-year and above loans is 4.75 percent, which is the same as last month's quotation, but the market expected that both will go down, the central bank announced on March 20. The LPR is the benchmark that Chinese financial institutions must reference when extending loans to companies. 

China Development and Reform Commission cut the benchmark retail price of domestic gasoline and diesel oil again from March 18, the biggest decline in a single time in nearly seven years. The recent collapse of the international crude oil price is the main force driving this round of price reductions.

The Shanghai stock index has fallen by 4.91 percent and the Shenzhen stock index by 6.29 percent in the past week. The enterprise growth index, which mainly tracks Shenzhen-listed shares, has dropped 5.69 percent.

The US stock market has also crashed over the last week. The Dow slid 17.3 percent, the S&P 500 shed 14.9 percent and the NASDAQ lost 12.6 percent in the largest weekly decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Editor: Ben Armour