Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, where the new corona virus outbreak is occurring, is one of China's most important transport and industrial hubs.

Benny Liu, chairman of the Chinese office of the world-renowned auditing firm KPMG, based in the Netherlands once considered it "a core city in central China".

"Wuhan serves as an important industrial education, research and operation base, integrating the nation's transportation hub," he said.

The city of 11 million is one of the giant industrial centers, including steel production. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 50% of the long bridges in the world and 60% of Chinese highways are designed by Wuhan architects.

SCMP cited the report that Wuhan's GDP growth is 7.8% in 2019, 1.7% higher than the national average. Last year, total import and export value reached 244 billion yuan (35.3 billion USD), a record growth rate, exceeding 13.7% compared to the previous year and accounting for 61.9% of total foreign value. trade of Hubei Province.

As the oldest industrial city in the most populous country in the world, Wuhan attracts a large number of migrants and job seekers. Wuhan Mayor Chu Tien Vuong said that about 5 million city dwellers are migrants.

The city is also one of the important transport routes in central China in all three areas, including rail, water and aviation. This is one of the important ports of the Yangtze River tour.

Several countries have consulates in the city, including the United States and France. Both are planning to evacuate citizens from Wuhan due to the corona virus. According to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Wuhan, about 160 Japanese companies in the automotive and electronics industries have offices in Wuhan.

The city is also considered the center of organizing sports and cultural events of the country. The Chinese State Military Games will be held here in October 2019. The city allowed the construction of an athlete village with a capacity of about 10,000 soldiers, coaches and military officials participating in the sports festival.

Wuhan is also home to the tennis championships, including the Chinese Open. Qualifying for the women's football tournament at this year's Summer Olympics, scheduled to take place in the city in February, must leave the venue for Nanjing due to an outbreak of pneumonia.

Wuhan has been introducing high-tech industries. Last year's report by the Milken Institute, an independent think-tank research group based in California, USA, ranked Wuhan 9th among China's most economically active cities, up 7 places from the newspaper. Previous annual report of this organization. The Dong Ho Wuhan High-tech Development Zone, dubbed China's "Optical Valley," attracts a number of well-known technology companies, including Xiaomi.

Wuhan automobile industry focuses on 5 large enterprises, more than 10 passenger car factories and more than 500 auto parts enterprises. Some foreign manufacturers, including General Motors and Renault, enter into joint ventures with Chinese companies to produce cars in Wuhan.

Wuhan in particular and China in general are struggling with the acute pneumonia caused by the new strain of the Corona family (nCoV). The epidemic has so far killed 106 people and more than 4,500 cases.

China was forced to blockade Wuhan and many other cities due to fears of widespread disease. Chinese health officials say the possibility of nCoV will spread more and more strongly and that the virus can spread during incubation. But officials in Beijing reassure the world that China is taking adequate measures to stop the virus and stress the situation is under control.