Beijing malls, parks stay shut as China reports rise in Covid cases

Hit by workers’ unrest triggered by wage disputes and virus controls

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 once-bustling 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 secondlargest economy and dampening hopes that China would significantly ease its outlier Covid stance any time soon, as China faces its first winter battling the highly contagious Omicron variant.

“While there is little prospect of the authorities opting to step back from the zero-covid policy during the winter, there is a significant risk that containment efforts fail,” analysts at Capital Economics wrote.

Such a failure could result in more lockdowns which would cause unprecedented damage to the economy, they said.

China’s Covid 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. The videos could not be immediately verified by Reuters.

Localities accounting for nearly one-fifth 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 zero-covid 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 transmitted cases for Tuesday.

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

“Although the zero-covid 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.

While there is little prospect of the authorities opting to step back from the zero-covid policy during the winter, there is a significant risk that containment efforts fail” Analyst