BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural Development Bank of China, one of the country's three policy banks, will issue up to 50 billion yuan (about 7.14 billion U.S. dollars) worth of loans to Hubei Province this year to support its epidemic response and economic recovery.

The bank said it will also provide other preferential loan policies to Hubei, the hardest-hit province, such as lower loan rates and differentiated credit policy.

Hubei's gross domestic product contracted 39.2 percent year on year during the first quarter as the epidemic brought business activity to a standstill and cooped up residents at home.

Weighed down by the epidemic, China's economic growth fell 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter.  ■