5,000 new cases on Monday, nearly 8,000 the next day: the figures remain very modest across the country. In March, for example, there were almost ten times more contamination. But this obvious rebound is enough for Beijing to give an additional turn of the screw to its zero-Covid policy, which has never ceased to be applied.
>> China: the French international school in Beijing victim of the “zero Covid” strategy
In Europe, we have little forgotten the Covid, but China is still living to the rhythm of school closures, massive confinements. A few cases in a neighborhood and an entire city can find itself completely isolated, with daily screenings of people who test positive taken – willingly or by force – to quarantine centers. All this creates a feeling of exasperation which grows day by day.
#China People are forced to quarantine in cold parking lots or toilets
Frustrations over the zero covid strategy are mounting
@OutFrontCNN
pic.twitter.com/Kx8sIolend— AsiaNews (@AsiaNews_FR) November 4, 2022
A few days ago in the city of Lanzhou, in the center of the country, a 3-year-old boy died in his apartment, poisoned by carbon monoxide. He could have been saved if he had been taken to the hospital, except that the agents in charge of monitoring the confinement of his residence refused to let him out. Her father posted an accusatory message on social media, which was later deleted. Another dramatic news item this weekend in the confined city of Hohhot, in Inner Mongolia: a 55-year-old woman threw herself out of a window. Her daughters had however alerted the emergency services, explaining that their mother suffered from anxiety and had suicidal thoughts. They were never able to enter. The doors of the building had been welded, by the neighborhood committee… to prevent the inhabitants from leaving.
These repeated confinements also have serious consequences for the second economy of the planet. Seen from the West, the factory of the world is no longer considered a reliable supplier. To take just one example, the world’s largest iPhone factory, Foxconn, in Zhengzhou, is operating in slow motion.
11/09 – Anti-Covid restrictions reduce iPhone 14 Pro manufacturing in China https://t.co/tcAYzGPwxh
— France Mobiles (@francemobiles) November 9, 2022
We saw last week the videos of the workers who escaped by the dozens by climbing the fences so as not to remain confined to the place. As a result, Apple should produce two to three million fewer iPhones this quarter.
Delivery times are getting longer – this is not a good signal before the holiday season. And it’s the same for cars or household appliances. Last month, China’s overall exports fell 0.3%. This is the first time in two and a half years that the main engine of the economy has found itself in the red.
China’s exports and imports contracted unexpectedly in October, the first simultaneous recession since May 2020…https://t.co/RAkmMzVIOY
—ⓃⒺⓌⓈ—ⒾⓃⓉ·۰•● (@NewsInt_) November 7, 2022
Growth, it lost another point for the fourth quarter, to around 3.5%. At the same time, China is going through an unprecedented crisis in real estate, historically an engine of growth.
All these bad figures have fueled rumors in recent weeks of a relaxation of health policy. Hopes showered this weekend by the health authorities. China is sticking to it so “unwavering” to its strategy. This could disappoint investors who hope for a lifting
restrictions. The prospect of a global recession could make matters worse.
For the record, China has never had so few billionaires. According to the ranking established by the Chinese firm Hurun published on Tuesday, 1,305 people have a fortune estimated at at least five billion yuan (about 691 million dollars), a figure down 11% over one year. It is especially the strongest fall for 24 years.