Covid 19: A Hindustan Times report says that China may experience 65 million cases of Covid per week in June. However, Dr Zhang Wenhong of a Shanghai hospital says the re-emergence of this pandemic “should not have a huge impact overall on economic activity and life”, thereby implying there would not be large-scale lockdowns in China.
Beijing now considers Covid as Class-B, which means this disease is now less serious. The officials “have also been trying to reassure the public, saying that the symptoms are relatively mild.” Last year, there were large-scale lockdowns in many parts of China leading to widespread protests. These lockdowns led to the slowing down of economic activity and the closure of millions of jobs.
The New York Times says that China is focusing on creating more jobs and restarting the Chinese economy.
Covid and the global economy
The Covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020 in China and quickly spread to most parts of the world. Initially, governments all over the world didn’t know much about the causes and effects of this disease, but over time, they realized social isolation can prevent the spread of this pandemic.
However, lockdowns impacted the global industry adversely. While this pandemic affected all the economic sectors, the hardest hit were the leisure and hospitality industries. Airlines, hotels and travel companies had to shut down and this led to several job losses.
Covid-19 also hit the manufacturing sector in China and elsewhere. It is important to realize that China was a manufacturing hub before the emergence of the outbreak of this pandemic.
China’s recovery post-Covid
A BBC article published on April 18, 2023, says China’s GDP grew 4.3% in the first three months of this year. This growth was due to a rise in household consumption and growth in factory activity.
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