Ahead of the closely watched Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s 20th National Congress beginning Oct. 16, cities across China have ratcheted up COVID-19 curb measures.
As of Monday, at least 36 Chinese cities have been placed under some level of restrictions or lockdown, affecting some 196.9 million people, up from the previous week’s 179.7 million, according to an estimate by Japanese bank Nomura.
These cities accounted for nearly 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, it added.
Nomura, like other global investment banks and institutions, has warned of the crippling impact of China’s COVID-19 controls. It has slashed its forecast for China’s economic growth to 2.7 percent as lockdowns swept through the country in September. At the beginning of this year, Nomura predicted the country’s economy to grow by 4.3 percent….