Coronavirus shuts down a provincial economy the size of Sweden for the third week as Hubei hunkers down

Hubei’s economy was estimated at US$574 billion last year, the seventh largest among China’s provinces in 2018

The province, home to 59 million people, was China’s fourth-largest car production centre last year, after Guangdong, Jilin and Shanghai

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Staff from the US embassy board a cargo plane, chartered by the US State Department to evacuate Americans and Canadians from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus, during the boarding process at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan on February 7, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:04pm, 10 Feb 2020Updated: 4:54pm, 14 Feb 2020

China’s Hubei province is now in the third week of a shutdown triggered by the virus that has killed hundreds of people – and halted an industrial powerhouse the size of Sweden.

Every day of closure deepens the disruption to the nation’s economy, and indeed the world. China’s largest producer of phosphorus, used in fertiliser is there, and it’s also at the heart of the country’s auto industry with local carmakers like Dongfeng Motor Group and global titans such as PSA Group and Honda Motor making vehicles and components there.

Among China’s earliest industrial centres, Hubei has grown faster than the national average for years. Well-connected rail, river and road transport is complemented by a steady supply of graduates from numerous local universities. Shuttering this swathe of China’s output poses questions for the government’s economic targets, and the international companies reliant on the province’s output.

The curtailment of business started on January 23, when the government ordered people to stay at home in the provincial capital of Wuhan, and progressively expanded the instruction to the rest of Hubei after that.

Infographics: Global automakers and their Chinese venture partners

The province is home to a wide range of industries, as well as having a large education sector.