China’s widening Covid-19 curbs trigger public pushback

Frustration yesterday simmered among residents and business groups in China navigating stricter Covid-19 control curbs as the country reported another record high of daily infections just weeks after hopes had been raised of easing measures.

The resurgence of Covid cases in China, with 32,695 new local infections recorded for Thursday as numerous cities report outbreaks, has prompted widespread lockdowns and other curbs on movement and business, as well as pushback.

China’s Covid response is taking a mounting toll on the world’s second-largest economy, and yesterday its central bank made a widely-anticipated move of support, cutting the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves.

This releases 500bn yuan ($69.8bn) in long-term liquidity.

The French Chamber of Commerce in China urged authorities to properly implement Covid “optimisation” measures announced two weeks ago, in a statement shared extensively on social media after the French embassy posted it on its Twitter-like Weibo account on Thursday.

The 20 measures, which include shortened quarantines and other more targeted steps, had “given hope” to French companies for more bilateral trade and economic exchanges, but “good policies also need to be implemented in a uniform manner and without adding layers of other contradicting policies”, the chamber’s statement said.

The announcement of the 20 measures, just as rising cases prompted an increasingly heavy response under China’s strict zero-Covid approach, has caused widespread confusion and uncertainty in big cities, including Beijing, where many residents are locked down at home.

China defends President Xi Jinping’s signature zero-Covid policy as life-saving and necessary to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system.

Many analysts expect a significant easing of the coronavirus curbs only from next March or April at the earliest, with some experts warning that China must significantly ramp up vaccinations and change its messaging in a country where fear of Covid runs high. A move towards living with Covid in the medium-term would be difficult, said Singapore-based ING economist Rob Carnell.

“Once you start to move away from the really draconian approach, then this thing just spirals quickly,” he said.

“I’m not sure still that they are willing to take that hit,” he said, referring to large numbers of people getting sick or dying. “And until they are, they’re going to be struggling with this.”

At the world’s largest iPhone factory in the central city of Zhengzhou, more than 20,000 new hires have left after Covidrelated worker unrest this week, further imperilling output at Apple supplier Foxconn’s plant there.