- Beijing is closing more than 40 subway stations, 158 bus routes
- Zhengzhou will impose strict restrictions on COVID next week
- It is difficult for Shanghai to get out of the one-month blockade
BEIJING / SHANGHAI, May 4 (Reuters) – The Chinese capital, Beijing, closed dozens of subway stations and bus routes on Wednesday in a campaign to halt the spread of COVID-19 and avoid the fate of Shanghai, where millions have been severely blocked for more than a month. .
New evidence has emerged that China’s uncompromising battle against the coronavirus, believed to have hit the Wuhan city in late 2019, is undermining its growth and damaging international companies invested there.
Late Tuesday, another city announced homework and other COVID restrictions for next week. The central city of Zhengzhou, home to 12.6 million people and the factory of iPhone maker Apple Foxconn (2354.TW), is joining dozens of major cities in full or partial blockade.
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The capital has closed more than 40 metro stations, about a tenth of the network and 158 bus routes, service providers said. Most of the stopped stations and routes are in the Chaoyang district, the epicenter of the epidemic in Beijing.
With dozens of new cases a day, Beijing is trying to avoid a complete blockade, as Shanghai did initially, instead hoping mass tests will detect and isolate the virus before it can spread.
The city of 22 million people has closed schools, as well as some businesses and residential buildings in high-risk areas, and many people are stockpiling in the event of a complete blockade. Read more
Twelve of Beijing’s 16 counties conducted the second of three rounds of testing this week, making three mass screenings last week.
There is no end to the blockade in Shanghai.
After more than a month, most people in mainland China’s largest city and its financial center are still not allowed to leave their homes.
Some of Shanghai’s 25 million residents have benefited from temporary easing of precautionary measures since Sunday, with only one household member allowed to take a brisk walk, some fresh air and some shopping in supermarkets.
According to the latest figures, 63 new cases have been detected in Shanghai outside the areas under the strictest curbs, suggesting that the city has a way of meeting the goal of avoiding cases for several days before curbs can significantly alleviate.
Authorities say the zero-COVID policy aims to save as many lives as possible, citing millions of COVID deaths outside China, where many countries reject precautionary measures to “live with COVID” even when infections spread.
But the policy hurts domestic consumption and factory production, disrupts key global supply chains and cuts revenue for some of the world’s largest international brands, such as Apple (AAPL.O), Gucci-parent Kering (PRTP.PA) and Taco Bell owner Yum China (9987.HK). Read more
Capital Economics estimates that COVID has spread to areas that generate 40 percent of China’s output and 80 percent of China’s exports, all facing varying degrees of restraint.
“Recent mobility trends suggest that China’s growth rate has deteriorated significantly in April, with congestion, subway passenger numbers and other high-frequency indicators being the weakest since the original outbreak,” a note from Fitch Ratings said.
Its analysts have lowered their growth forecast for 2022 to 4.3%, from 4.8%, well below China’s official target of 5.5%.
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O) suspended its guidelines for the rest of its fiscal year on Tuesday, mainly due to COVID’s restrictions in China. Sales in China, where the chain has expanded rapidly in recent years, fell 23 percent, overshadowing 12 percent growth in North America. Read more
Foxconn said on Wednesday it was continuing production in Zhengzhou. Read more
Many factories were closed after Shanghai became blockaded in March. Although some have begun to reopen, bringing workers back while we deal with broken supply chains has proved difficult. Read more
Authorities in Shanghai helped Tesla (TSLA.O) transport more than 6,000 workers and carry out disinfection work to reopen its factory last month, according to a letter Tesla sent to officials and seen by Reuters. Read more
International trade is also facing disruptions.
A study by analysts at the Royal Bank of Canada found that one-fifth of the world’s fleet of container ships is congested in various major ports. Read more
In the port of Shanghai, 344 ships were waiting to dock, an increase of 34% in the last month. It takes 74 days longer than usual to deliver something from a warehouse in China to one in the United States, they said.
(This story is being converted to remove the unnecessary “inside” in the title)
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Reporting to Aizhu Chen, Hou Xiangming, Brenda Goh and offices in Beijing and Shanghai; Author: Marius Zacharias; Edited by Robert Birsel
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