TShanghai is showing little signs of loosening its COVID-19 control, nearly two weeks after it was extended to include a portion of the city.
On April 20, nearly half of the 25 million residents were able to go outdoors, albeit in limited fashion, as authorities declared the coronavirus to be under “effective control” in parts of China’s most populous city. However, many movement restrictions were reintroduced on April 22nd, leading to frustration and confusion.
To prevent people who have tested positive from fleeing, electronic alarms were reportedly installed in their homes. Some areas have been evacuated to ensure districtwide disinfection. Mass transfers to quarantine centres are also taking place. Some residents are forced to remain at home because it is difficult for them to access food and essentials through overwhelmed delivery service.
Official pronouncements underscore China’s determination to stick to its zero-COVID policy. This means cities throughout the country will still be subject to restrictions, as authorities attempt to control increasingly transmissible variants.
As of April 19, more than half of China’s biggest cities were under some form of lockdown. Industrial cities and trading ports—including vital hubs like Changchun, Jilin, Shenyang, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Guangzhou—have shuttered businesses, imposed travel restrictions, or told residents to stay home.
That’s causing concern about the impact on China’s domestic economy—and the global one.
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“The already extensive disruptions to global supply chains are being exacerbated by the lockdowns in China, adding to inflationary pressures and difficulties in procuring a broad range of consumer goods,” says Eswar Prasad, a professor of economics and trade policy at Cornell University and the former head of the IMF’s China Division.
China’s first-quarter GDP rose 4.8% according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, but the bureau warned of economic headwinds. “We must be aware that with the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges,” it said in a statement.
View of residence units in the Jing’an area of Shanghai during a Covid-19 Coronavirus Lockdown on April 21st, 2022
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
How China’s lockdowns will affect the global economy
In an April 21 speech, President Xi Jinping emphasized the resilience of China’s economy. He said the country offered “powerful momentum” for recovery from COVID-19 and minimized concerns about the economic impact of the extensive lockdowns, calling for better coordination between major economies to prevent “severe and negative” spillover effects.
But China’s Premier Li Keqiang has issued several warnings about the risks to economic growth in recent weeks. The unemployment rate across 31 major Chinese cities also rose from 5.4% in February to 6% in March—the highest on record, according to official data going back to 2018.
“China’s COVID restrictions are weighing heavily on its domestic demand, which has already been weak even before the recent Omicron outbreaks and lockdowns,” says Tommy Wu, a lead economist from Oxford Economics based in Hong Kong.
Those same restrictions, he adds, are now “also affecting the country’s industrial production and export activity, which will amplify the ongoing global supply disruptions.”
Richard Yu, a top Huawei executive, warned last week that China’s zero-COVID policy might trigger “massive losses” and hit the global supply chain.
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“If Shanghai cannot resume production by May, all of the tech and industrial players who have supply chains in the area will come to a complete halt, especially the automotive industry,” he said in a WeChat post. “That will pose severe consequences and massive losses for the whole industry.”
He Xiaopeng is the CEO of Xpeng, an electric vehicle manufacturer. He stated that Chinese automakers could have to stop production as early as May.
David Dollar, senior Fellow at Brookings Institution says that although autos and other sectors will be affected, the impact on global growth should not be too great.
As for inflation, “some specific products will continue to have price spikes,” he says, but “American consumers can look forward to inflation gradually tapering as the Fed tightens monetary policy.”
However, Wu the economist cautions that there will likely be supply shortages of some consumer goods in the U.S. in the coming months: “Notably electronics, home appliances, and also apparel and garments to some extent.”
In a report released this month, the IMF also said “Recent lockdowns in key manufacturing and trade hubs in China will likely compound supply disruptions elsewhere,” potentially adding to inflationary pressures.
Prasad at Cornell agrees. “The Chinese economy’s sheer size and its importance to global supply chains together imply that China’s zero-COVID policy is having ripple effects that touch every corner of the global economy,” he tells TIME.
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