China had allocated a total of 108.75 billion yuan (15.58 billion U.S. dollars) in special funds by March 2 for the prevention and control work of the novel coronavirus, Fu Jinling, an official with the Ministry of Finance, told a press conference Tuesday.

File photo: CGTN

Fu also said that China had provided enterprises with 1 trillion yuan (143 billion U.S. dollars) in social insurance payments relief this year to support the resumption of production.

China will cut the total tax burden on enterprises by 510 billion yuan (73.07 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020, and is also allowing firms in the virus-stricken province of Hubei to waive insurance payments for five months.

China is encouraging the production of key medical protective materials, such as N95 masks and protective clothing.