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The spread of epidemic severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has battered several key industries in China, putting the country's economy under its greatest strain since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
In Beijing, the worst hit city in China, the deadly SARS virus caused a loss of 450 million yuan (US$54.4 million) during the first four months of this year, according to the Beijing Statistics Bureau.
The capital city hosted 116,000 overseas tourists in April, a slump of 59.9 percent over the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, other service sectors, including civil aviation, railway and road passenger transport, restaurants and hotels also suffered marked losses in April.
However, Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) between January and April still reached 95 billion yuan (US$11.5 billion), a rise of 12 percent over the same period of last year.
The city reported revenues of 23 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) over the same period, an increase of 24.2 percent, said the bureau.
The effects of the SARS outbreak were also being monitored in southern Guangdong Province, which recorded the highest number of cases on the Chinese mainland in the first quarter. The province still showed the strength of its economy, with last quarter's GDP growth rate standing at 13 percent.
However, the province was still likely to have suffered some losses last quarter, analysts said. And they predicted a more obvious negative impact in this second quarter.
"That's mainly due to natural inertia in economic development," said Zhu Weiping, a professor with Guangzhou-based Jinan University.
According to Zhu, it will take time before the impact of SARS on the region's economy shows up.
He predicted a U-shaped impact from SARS on Guangdong's economy, with most of the effects being felt in the second and third quarter. In the fourth quarter of the year, the economy is expected to return to normal, Zhu said.
According to the Guangdong Statistics Bureau, from February to March when SARS infections peaked, sales volumes in the catering sector increased by only 7.5 percent over the same period last year.
The growth rate was small compared to previous years, given that Guangdong people like to spend 30 to 40 percent of their income on eating out.
According to the provincial Hotel Sector Association, 62,000 room bookings across some 70 hotels were cancelled last month, resulting in losses of 320 million yuan (US$38.55 million).
The province's exhibition sector also recorded losses from SARS.
According to Stanley Chu, chairman of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd, most of the trade shows he organized - ranging from small gifts to textiles - have been cancelled or postponed to later this year.
"The changes to the timing and venues of these shows definitely cut into my company's profit," he said.
"However, compared with some small and medium-sized enterprises, which may have to close their doors, we are lucky enough."
In the coastal city of Shenzhen in Guangdong, the local economy reported a sound performance. Its GDP registered at 71.8 billion yuan (US$8.67 billion) in the January-April period, an increase of 15.9 percent compared with that of last year.
According to a report released by the city's statistics bureau, the overall foreign trade volume in the first four months was US$32.9 billion, a rise of 33.5 percent on the same period of the previous year.
（China Daily May 14, 2003）
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