China widens virus curbs, unrest at iphone plant

BEIJING: Chinese cities imposed more curbs on Wednesday to rein in rising coronavirus cases, adding to investor worries about the economy, as fresh unrest at the world’s largest iphone plant highlighted the social and industrial toll of China’s strict COVID-19 measures.

In Beijing, malls and parks were shut and oncebustling areas of the capital resembled ghost towns as authorities urged people to stay home.

The Hainan island resort city of Sanya barred people from going to restaurants and malls within three days of arrival, and numerous cities across China have imposed localised lockdowns as infections neared highs seen in April.

The measures are darkening the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy and dampening hopes that China would significantly ease its outlier COVID-19 stance any time soon, as China faces its first winter batling the highly contagious Omicron variant.

China’s COVID-19 curbs, the tightest in the world, have fuelled widespread discontent and disrupted production at manufacturers including Taiwan’s Foxconn, Apple Inc’s biggest iphone supplier.

On Wednesday, footage uploaded on social media showed Foxconn workers pulling down barriers and fighting with authorities in hazmat suits, chanting “give us our pay.”

The unrest follows weeks of turmoil which has seen scores of employees leave the factory over COVID controls.

Localities accounting for nearly one-fith of China’s total GDP are under some form of lockdown or curbs, brokerage Nomura estimated earlier this week, a figure that would exceed the GDP of Britain.

Even though infection numbers are low by global standards, China has stuck with its ZEROCOVID approach, a signature policy of President Xi Jinping that officials argue saves lives and prevents the medical system from being overwhelmed.

China reported 28,883 new domestically transmited cases for Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund urged China to further recalibrate its COVID-19 strategy and boost vaccination rates.

“Although the ZERO-COVID-19 strategy has become nimbler over time, the combination of more contagious COVID variants and persistent gaps in vaccinations have led to the need for more frequent lockdowns, weighing on consumption and private investment,” IMF official Gita Gopinath said.

Residents are increasingly fed up with nearly three years of restrictions, and Wednesday’s protest at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou comes ater crowds recently crashed through barriers and clashed with hazmat-suit-clad workers in the southern city of Guangzhou.