China has made substantial progress in resumption of work and production to confront the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), the country's top economic regulator said on Wednesday.

"Over 50 percent of industrial enterprises above designated size in some developed provinces and municipalities, such as South China's Guangdong and East China's Jiangsu provinces, and Shanghai have restarted production," said Tang Shemin, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Large enterprises are particularly ahead of small and medium-sized companies in terms of the resumption of work. Meanwhile, compared to downstream industries and labor-intensive enterprises, upstream participants and capital-intensive and technology-intensive companies reported a faster resumption of work, Tang noted.

Tang said during a news conference that the country is dedicated to helping companies resume work in an orderly manner. "It's a key measure to effectively contain the outbreak and maintain economic stability."

In these few days, production capability of masks in China has been expanded over 100 percent of the normal level, according to data from the NDRC. On Wednesday alone, the figure reached 110 percent.

Additionally, 80 percent of key companies in the non-ferrous metal sector have restored production, and those engaging in the refining business have reached 60 percent.

Tang said the NDRC will make a big push to resolve any issues that companies are facing, such as an insufficient number of returning workers, finance troubles and impeded logistics and transportation, especially for SMEs.

(With input from China Daily)