2020年CRI IMF预测今年亚洲经济零增长 G20同意最贫困国家暂停还债

The Chinese foreign minister says the country will continue to support Pakistan in accordance with its needs to help it overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang Yi made the pledge during phone talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Wang said the Chinese side has provided multiple batches¹ of material assistance, dispatched medical experts to Pakistan, and convened² video conferences to share China's experience in the prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19.

Qureshi expressed his appreciation³ for the support China has offered to Pakistan, which he said has played a major role in the country's fight against the virus.

A team of Chinese medical experts has left for Burkina Faso in Africa to help with the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Invited by the government of Burkina Faso, the 12-member team departed from north China's Tianjin Municipality.

The team includes members from the Tianjin municipal people's hospital and those from the city's disease control and prevention center.

The experts specialize in respiratory, intensive care, internal medicine, hospital infection control, traditional Chinese medicine, imaging, laboratory test, epidemiology, disinfection and nursing areas.

Chinese health authorities report there were 46 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Wednesday.

34 of the new cases were imported.

The other 12 were domestically transmitted, including 5 in Guangdong, 4 in Heilongjiang and 3 in Beijing.

No deaths were reported on the mainland on Wednesday.

76 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

The number of severe cases decreased by 18 to 95.

Hubei, the former center of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, has sent medical supplies to the border province of Heilongjiang amid the rising pressure of imported COVID-19 cases.

Three planes carrying medical protective suits, N95 masks and ventilators have landed at the airports in the provincial⁴ capital of Harbin and the border city of Mudanjiang.

The materials, worth about 30 million yuan, have been delivered to the city of Suifenhe at the China-Russia border.

Heilongjiang has reported over 350 imported COVID-19 cases, with another 50 asymptomatic cases.

The International Monetary⁵ Fund has said growth in Asia is expected to stall at zero percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lowest growth since the 1960s.

An IMF official in charge of Asia and Pacific affairs says the pandemic is worse than the Global Financial Crisis, and Asia is not immune.

However, Chang Yong Rhee adds that Asia still looks to fare better than other regions in terms of activity.

Rhee notes the region is experiencing different stages of the pandemic and "China's economy is beginning to get back to work".

Johns Hopkins University says more than 30 thousand people have died from the coronavirus in the United States.

The university also says there are over 638 thousand COVID-19 infections in the country.

New York City has recorded nearly 10,900 deaths, which exceeds that of Italy to become the highest in the world to date.

Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies have agreed to suspend debt service payments owed to them by the world's poorest countries.

The payments will be suspended from May until the end of the year.

Mohammed Al-Jadaan is Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister.

"Our actions today include a G20 initiative to suspend debt service payments for the poorest countries. All bilateral⁶ official creditors⁷ will participate in this initiative...And through this platform I also call on private creditors working through the institute of international finance to participate in the initiative on comparable terms."

The initiative is part of efforts to bolster⁸ the global economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

1 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

2 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

7 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。