Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province was awarded by the China- ASEAN Business Council for helping ASEAN countries in pandemic prevention and control at a ceremony in Beijing on April 16.

The Yantai government has issued a slew of measures to help foreign-funded enterprises resume production during the pandemic.

A total of 582 service specialists were sent to help more than 1,800 foreign enterprises in the city solve problems such as the lack of epidemic supplies and the entry of foreign personnel. Accordingly, 178 chartered flights were provided to help 1,008 foreigners enter the city.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an important economic and trade partner of Yantai. In 2020, the city hosted a series of economic and trade activities with ASEAN countries as part of efforts to deepen economic and trade ties between the two sides.

By the end of 2020, Yantai had introduced a total of 546 projects bearing investments from ASEAN countries. The actual use of capital from ASEAN countries amounted to $2.75 billion.

At the same time, the city's imports and exports to ASEAN countries reached 39.21 billion yuan ($6.01 billion), an increase of 36.4 percent year-on-year.