China's imports of bulk commodities including iron ore, crude oil and coal, as well as essential agricultural products.

China's foreign trade continued to fall in March, but the momentum of decline has greatly eased, indicating that the world's second-largest economy is gradually recovering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infrastructure construction has gathered pace across China as the government ramped up funding to spur investment in the sector following basic containment of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region announced Wednesday it plans to implement 890 major infrastructure projects this year, with an investment of about 130 billion yuan (about $18.41 billion).

[Ferro-Alloys.com] KEY POINTS South Africa remains the most affected country in Africa by the pandemic, with 2,415 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

[Ferro-Alloys.com] South Africa allowed mining companies to resume operations at half their normal capacity as the government takes its first steps to ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

[Ferro-Alloys.com] JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa will allow mines to operate at up to 50% capacity during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, according to amended regulations published on Thursday.

[Ferro-Alloys.com] Approval to restart operations partially at the Tshipi Borwa manganese mine has been granted to Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, ASX-listed Jupiter Mines has announced.