Coronavirus: China trumpets message of stability amid world turmoil as Beijing senses Covid-19 victory

President Xi Jinping’s trip to Wuhan on Tuesday buoyed stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai after Monday’s global free-fall

China also reported its lowest daily number of new infections on Tuesday, including 17 in Wuhan and two imported cases in Beijing and Guangdong

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Xi Jinping’s trip to Wuhan on Tuesday came just hours after global stock markets suffered their worst single-day loss since the global financial crisis in 2008 and a sharp drop in oil prices. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:00pm, 10 Mar 2020Updated: 3:07am, 11 Mar 2020

China is now projecting itself as a source of political and economic stability in a world increasingly beset by the perfect storm of the coronavirus outbreak spreading rapidly in the United States and European Union, falling stock indices and plunging oil prices, turning the tables on the narrative of only a few weeks ago.

Buoyed by President Xi Jinping’s symbolic trip to the city of Wuhan, the virus epicentre in Hubei province, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.8 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 1.4 per cent on Tuesday, in contrast to the free-fall in stock prices globally on Monday.

On Tuesday, shares of Wuhan-based companies, including Hubei Chutian Expressway and Yangtze Communications Industry, surged the daily limit of 10 per cent.

Xi’s trip followed just hours after global stock markets suffered their worst single-day loss since the global financial crisis in 2008 and a sharp drop in oil prices, with China’s leader attempting to send a clear signal of confidence in the battle against the outbreak.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index in New York opened more than 3 per cent higher, recovering some of Monday's losses, while in London, the FTSE 100 Index was up 2.6 per cent by the early afternoon.

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