Foreign news

Xi Jinping Calls for efforts to stimulate market vitality as COVID-19 pandemic impacts economy

Published

5 years ago

July 22, 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Tuesday called for efforts to stimulate market vitality to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Chinese and global economy.

Xi made the remarks while presiding over a symposium with entrepreneurs in Beijing.

Entrepreneurs present at the meeting included Chairman of Hikvision Digital Technology Chen Zongnian, Chairman of Sinochem Group Ning Gaoning, Chairman of Wuhan Gaode Infrared Co., Ltd. Huang Li, Chairman of GoerTek Inc. Jiang Bin, senior Vice President of Microsoft Hong Xiaowen and President of Panasonic China Zhao Bingdi.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy economic blow to China and the rest of the world, with a slew of market players in the country facing unprecedented pressure. Market entities now act as the carriers of economic power, hence ensuring the vitality of market players is equivalent to stimulating social productivity, Xi said.

“We must unleash the dynamics of market players, carry forward an entrepreneurial spirit, and push enterprises to play a greater role in pursuing development, thus accumulating strengths for further economic growth,” Xi noted.

Xi said hefty inroads have been made in pandemic prevention and control, and China’s economic development has embraced a stable turn for the better. It is now at the forefront of the world in pandemic control and economic recovery, delivering better-than-expected outcomes.

“We must beef up our confidence to overcome the difficulties and strive to make up for the losses caused by COVID-19, so as to notch up impressive full-year economic growth,” he added.

China’s economy returned to modest growth in the second quarter of 2020 and reverted from the first contraction on record in the first quarter this year, as COVID-19 eases and policymakers proclaimed economic packages. In the first half of 2020, China’s economy declined by 1.6 percent year on year.

The world’s second-largest economy grew by 3.2 percent between April and June from a year earlier, reversing a 6.8-percent decline in the first quarter – the first contraction since at least 1992 when official quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) records started, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

The reading beats the median 1.1 percent forecast by economists surveyed by Nikkei and coincides with an AFP poll which projected the economy would claw its way back into growth territory in the second quarter of this year.

Policy support

Xi expressed his gratitude to state-owned, private and foreign-funded enterprises, Hong Kong-, Macao- and Taiwan-funded companies, and the self-employed businesses for their contributions to socio-economic progress and pandemic control.

He then stressed to inject more dynamism into market entities and enlarge policy support via more proactive fiscal policies and moderate monetary policies, so that the majority of market entities can not only survive, but also obtain greater development.

Meanwhile, he called for creating an international and marketized business environment building on rule of law, including fully applying the negative list for market access and barring trading power for money.

Xi also urged local governments to provide more quality public services for enterprises, listening more to entrepreneurs’ opinions and suggestions when formulating policies related to enterprises.

In addition, more weight should be assigned to self-employed businesses, according to Xi, namely, the government should actively help them solve problems in the fields like rent, tax, social insurance, and financing with more direct and effective policy assistance.

Entrepreneurship advancement

“Entrepreneurs should advance patriotism, integrity, as well as innovation and social responsibility to become a driving force for creating a new development pattern, building a modern economic system and promoting high-quality development in the new era,” Xi noted.

He said patriotic entrepreneurs should integrate the development of enterprises with national prosperity and people’s happiness to share the burdens of the country.

Xi also encouraged entrepreneurs to be bold in innovation and focus on technological research and human capital investment. Entrepreneurs should also bear more social responsibility, step up efforts to stabilize jobs and care about employees’ health to go through the tough situation together with employees.

President Xi also urged entrepreneurs to upgrade international vision through improving international market development capability and strengthen the ability to withstand international market risks so as to drive enterprises to achieve better development during the higher-level opening-up.

China must make good use of the strength of the country’s market and push forward technological innovation in the face of rising protectionism and a volatile global economy, the Chinese president stressed.

Noting that in the long term, economic globalization is still a historical trend and win-win cooperation is the trend of the times, Xi said China would continue to deepen reform and opening-up, strengthen cooperation in the field of science and technology, promote the construction of an open world economy and push for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

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Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria

Published

1 week ago

September 28, 2025

The Gleamer

African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.

The discussions took center stage at the Big Push Against Malaria: Harnessing Africa’s Role high-level political engagement in Abuja, where Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda showcased new homegrown financing strategies aimed at reducing dependence on dwindling donor support.

Africa’s Heavy Burden

Malaria remains one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. In 2023, the world recorded 263 million cases and nearly 600,000 deaths, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occurring in Africa. Nigeria alone accounted for 26.6% of global cases and 31% of deaths, according to the World Malaria Report 2024. Children under five remain the most vulnerable, making up 76% of deaths.

Despite progress — with Nigeria cutting malaria deaths by more than half since 2000 through insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatments, and the rollout of the new R21 malaria vaccine — leaders warned that global targets are off-track. The World Health Organization’s technical strategy for malaria (2016–2030) has stalled since 2017, with Africa unlikely to meet its 2025 and 2030 milestones without urgent action.

Taxing for Health Futures

The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.

According to the House Chair on ATM, Hon. Linda Ogar, a bill is underway to restructure the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) into a multi-disease agency that will address HIV, TB, and malaria.

The new financing mechanism proposes:

Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items

Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions

A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue

“These resources will provide sustainable funding to strengthen health systems and accelerate malaria elimination,” Ogar said, stressing that Africa must stop relying solely on foreign donors. “We cannot continue to take two steps forward and five steps backward. Africa must begin to show the world that we are ready to solve our problems ourselves.”

Similar models are already being piloted in Ghana and Uganda, where levies on mobile money and telecoms are being redirected to finance health interventions. The Abuja meeting urged other African countries to adopt this approach as part of a continental framework for sustainable financing.

Leaders Call for Urgent Action

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, emphasized that while malaria is preventable and treatable, it still kills hundreds of thousands yearly due to funding shortfalls, climate change, insecticide resistance, and humanitarian crises.

“To truly defeat this disease, we must rethink, join forces, and mount a concerted ‘Big Push’. Funding gaps remain a major obstacle, and innovative domestic financing is the way forward,” Salako declared.

From the civil society front, grassroots representatives pledged to act as “foot soldiers”, demanding that communities have a seat at the decision-making table. The World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and other partners reaffirmed support but stressed the need for stronger political will and local ownership.

Private Sector and Global Support

Representing billionaire philanthropist Aliko Dangote, the Nigeria Malaria Council reiterated that private sector investment must complement government financing. Meanwhile, the Global Fund confirmed it has invested nearly $2 billion in Nigeria’s malaria response and committed an additional $500 million for 2024–2026, including support for local production of malaria drugs.

The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:

“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”

Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria

Abuja, Nigeria – African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.

Africa’s Heavy Burden

Taxing for Health Futures

The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.

The new financing mechanism proposes:

Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items

Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions

A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue

Leaders Call for Urgent Action

Private Sector and Global Support

The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:

“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”

The Big Push: From Talk to Action

Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.

With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.

“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”

Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are pioneering a shift from donor dependence to domestic revenue mobilization via tobacco, alcohol, and telecom taxes — a model hailed as central to financing Africa’s health futures and ending malaria by 2030
Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.

With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.

“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”

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