News Analysis
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been adamant that he will maintain his “zero-COVID” policy even as it destroys China’s economy.
By the first week of April, approximately 75 percent of China’s 100 largest cities, which account for over half of the GDP, have imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Shanghai’s draconian lockdown was the most widely publicized. Jilin, a major agricultural and commercial center, was also subjected to harsh restrictions. In March, the manufacturing city of Shenzhen saw a suspension of nearly all economic activity for a week.
With school closures and travel restrictions being implemented in Guangdong, home to tens of millions of people, another lockdown with dire implications for international trade may be on the horizon.
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