German automaker BMW announced on March 23 that its plants in Shenyang, China, will temporarily shut down from March 24 due to the city’s COVID-19 restrictions, with no date determined for resuming production. Northeastern China’s Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province with a population of 9.1 million, is home to BMW’s largest production base in the world. The base is a joint venture between BMW and its Chinese partner, Brilliance China Automotive, and has two vehicle production plants, a research and development center, a powertrain plant, and a new vehicle plant that is under construction. According to BMW Shenyang, the production capacity of its base is currently 760,000 vehicles per year. In 2021, the base manufactured over 700,000 cars, which is 27.8 percent of BMW’s total production. Despite the city’s strict COVID-19 restrictions, including quarantining international arrivals for 28 days at quarantine centers followed by another 28 days of home …