BEIJING—China’s economy has a lot riding on its consumers, who are just now emerging from lockdowns in Shanghai and other big cities. But those hopes are running up against the likes of Wu Lei, a soccer coach in Beijing who has put off buying a new mobile phone.
“I’ve lost the lion’s share of my income since Beijing called a stop to after-school sports clubs in April,” said Wu, a 37-year-old with two daughters. The five-week-long near-shutdown of the Chinese capital under the Chinese regime’s stringent COVID-19 measures was eased on Monday.
“We have no spare money even in normal months, so now we feel really under financial pressure,” he said….