【明報專訊】Small-scale COVID-19 outbreaks have flared up across China, with the number of infected people reaching four digits for four consecutive days. The pandemic situation has been bought under control thanks to non-stop and watertight defense over the past three years, but the economy has plunged, and all kinds of businessmen in businesses of different sizes are bemoaning the situation. President Xi Jinping's latest instruction concerning the pandemic is that "the pandemic must be held at bay, the economy must be stabilised, and the development must be safe". It is the first time that stabilising the economy and defending against the pandemic are given the same importance.