Global Impact: China’s zero-Covid policy exit provides another test for its beleaguered economy

Name: Beijing workers begin return to offices despite Covid surge as businesses struggle to reopen
Uploaded: 2022-12-28T06:00:21.000Z
Duration: 4 min
Description: Beijing workers begin return to offices despite Covid surge as businesses struggle to reopen

Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world

In this edition, we look at what we can expect for China’s economy in 2023

Reading Time:6 minutes

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Wendy Wuin Beijing

Published: 2:00pm, 28 Dec 2022

It’s set to be a long winter as an unprecedented Omicron wave rips through China. Infections are outpacing medical supplies, hospitals are overwhelmed, obituaries are frequently being written, and the economy is still struggling.

It seems we are not prepared and it is posing the biggest test for President Xi Jinping and his new team to lead the country to weather the coronavirus storm and restore economic and social order.

A spike in infections was inevitable and the economic recovery will be bumpy after Beijing’s abrupt pivot away from its zero-Covid policy, but the speed of infection has been surprisingly fast.

In dire shortage of medical supplies, people have to rely on neighbours and friends to share fever-reducing medicines and rapid antigen test kits. They are also desperate to protect the elderly and children, seen as the most vulnerable groups. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, people are purchasing Panadol in bulk for families and friends in mainland China.

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Beijing workers begin return to offices despite Covid surge as businesses struggle to reopen

Health officials have also narrowed the definition of a coronavirus-related death and now only count those who die from respiratory failure. On the other hand, crematoriums in Beijing are reportedly crowded and people are sharing the sorrow of losing their loved ones on social media.

The Lunar New Year, which takes places towards the end of January, will be another test for the nation’s virus prevention measures as the world’s largest migration each year for family reunions is likely to speed up infections in rural areas, which are less covered by medical services compared to big cities, but are made up largely of the elderly and children.

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