Advertisement
China manufacturing
TechBig Tech

Shenzhen factories keep running at full capacity despite Covid-19 disruptions in test of China’s zero-tolerance approach

  • Many factories in the southern tech hub have prepared to operate in a ‘closed loop’ that keeps workers on site if lockdowns return to the city
  • The approach to industrial activity has helped the Chinese government maintain economic growth even as services and domestic consumption take a hit

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
3
Shenzhen residents ride scooters and bicycles along a street on March 21, after the city was reopened following a week-long lockdown to combat a Covid-19 outbreak. Photo: AFP
Iris Deng

Many factories in China’s technology hub of Shenzhen are managing to run at or near full capacity while adhering to China’s rigid “dynamic zero” Covid-19 policy, offering a glimpse at how the country’s vast manufacturing machine keeps humming under the world’s strictest quarantine regime.

At BST Computer Accessory, a smartphone charging cable manufacturer in the city’s northwestern industrial district of Guangming, all 300 of its workers were kept busy on an early May workday. It was just a few weeks after Shenzhen imposed a citywide lockdown in March to battle a fresh outbreak in the city amid a much larger surge just across the border in Hong Kong.

Shenzhen’s lockdown forced the factory to suspend operations for five days, but it was just a blip in the factory’s production, according to Hu Jun, the company’s owner. Hu had applied to resume production under a “closed-loop” system that keeps workers on site in case the lockdown was extended, but it was lifted on the fifth day, before a government review of the factory’s preparedness was completed.

“We needed to follow the government’s order, but fortunately we were able to recover quite soon,” Hu said.

Workers at BST Computer Accessory assemble smartphone charging cables under a sign reminding employees to wear a mask when handling chemicals. Photo: SCMP / Iris Deng
Workers at BST Computer Accessory assemble smartphone charging cables under a sign reminding employees to wear a mask when handling chemicals. Photo: SCMP / Iris Deng

While the factory has posted signs reminding workers to wear masks, some ignore the recommendation. Hu said one reason enforcement has not been strict is because medical staff conduct nucleic acid testing for workers in the industrial park every two days.

Advertisement