COVID lockdowns have resumed in China, with neighbourhoods in key port cities such as Shenzhen and Dalian being forced to return home this week, with widespread testing taking place at other critical maritime gateways such as Tianjin.
Several COVID-affected Chinese cities from east to west have placed new restrictions and lockdowns on their residents in order to contain flare-ups that are threatening to damage both local and worldwide economies.
The steps come as China’s latest wave appears to be lessening, with 1,556 new infections registered nationally on Sunday, down from over 3,000 two weeks earlier. Despite the enormous cost to the Chinese economy, the country is committed to halting the spread of a virus that the majority of the world now recognises as endemic.
A significant practice of China’s “dynamic COVID-zero” policy is limiting people’s unneeded movements for a few days – a gentler sort of lockdown – as soon as dozens of new cases appear. The goal is to contain an outbreak to prevent it from turning into the extended nightmares witnessed in Shanghai and Wuhan.
The measures affected cities ranging from Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the south to Dalian in the north, and from Chengdu in the west to Shijiazhuang in central Hebei province.
Following the confirmation of 51 new COVID cases, authorities in Tianjin, a port city in China’s northeast, stated that more than 13 million citizens will be subjected to mass testing.
The lockdown in Dalian was planned to last five days and is expected to affect almost half of the city’s six million residents, though authorities have previously extended restrictions based on the number of new cases.
In Shenzhen, at least four districts with a total population of about 9 million people have already ordered the closure of recreational and cultural businesses, as well as a halt or reduction in restaurant dining for a few days.
Guangzhou, a city of over 19 million people near Hong Kong, reported only five locally transmitted cases on Tuesday, although authorities closed indoor entertainment facilities and restaurants in one neighbourhood.
Sporadic Covid-19 lockdowns across China have hampered consumer enthusiasm and corporate confidence, while scorching temperatures in broad portions of the country this summer triggered factory power restrictions.
According to Capital Economics, 41 cities, accounting for 32% of China’s GDP, are currently experiencing outbreaks, the most since April.
Results of a poll conducted in June by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China show that about a quarter of European companies in China are considering transferring their assets out of the country, owing to the country’s draconian COVID laws. Other reports from the American and British chambers of commerce expressed similar sentiments.
Despite Beijing taking note of the unfavourable mood from international companies, which resulted in some guideline relaxation earlier this summer, there are still plenty of indicators of big brands seeking alternate manufacturing sites outside of China.
