It is growing among the Chinese common people Dissatisfaction Against the zero-Covid policy that completely paralyzes countries and limits the economy. Indeed, President Hsei seems to understand that a quarantine and lockdown against the highly contagious Omikron will only lead to catastrophic economic and social sacrifices. For now, the system is still in place, with authorities suspending the social media accounts of analysts who expressed a negative view of the economy.
With old weapons against the new enemy
Beijing yesterday 39 new local cases of COVID mentioned during the past 24 hours. The capital is doing everything it can to avoid a harsh lockdown: it is closing train stations, banning restaurant meals and conducting mass testing in key areas.
Everyone feels the importance of avoiding the Shanghai-like chaos of the capital. Titled “Shanghai Fights Old Weapons with a New Enemy of Covid” Back China’s “Caixinglobal” business paper, explicitly refers to the growing tension.
massive slowdown
Global companies have already felt the pain in the last quarter. Adidas’ first-quarter revenue fell 35% in China and 23% at Starbucks. China is slowing down at the wrong time for the global economy, at a time when markets are already very nervous about Fed austerity.
The current economic slowdown is only partly due to the pandemic. Another is the number of regulatory interventions in Chinese technology companies. No matter how much correction was necessary due to the abuse of a dominant position by individual firms, the nature and extent of the interventions are disproportionate. Indeed, President Xi was the brainchild of this policy, which has since led to the loss of millions of Chinese jobs.
