‘I’m Very Anxious’: China’s #Lockdowns Leave Millions Out of Work
//Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.
As China battles its worst coronavirus outbreaks, its uncompromising determination to eliminate infections has left millions unable to work. Stringent lockdowns, hitting city after city, have forced factories and businesses to shut, sometimes for weeks, including in some of the country’s most important economic centers.
Two groups have been especially hard-hit: migrant workers — the roughly 280 million laborers who travel from rural areas to cities to work in sectors such as manufacturing and construction — and recent college graduates. Nearly 11 million college students, a record, are expected to graduate this year...
Yang Jiwei, a 21-year-old from Anhui Province, worked as a waiter in Shanghai when the lockdown began. His residence, shared with four other people, had no kitchen supplies, so they could not cook the few packages of vegetables and meat that local officials had provided. He had been eating a dwindling supply of instant noodles...
But the official unemployment figures are widely considered an undercount. They do not capture many migrant workers, and they also count people as unemployed only if they are able to start working within two weeks. That would exclude people under extended lockdowns or the growing numbers of young people deferring job searches...//
Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/china-shanghai-covid-lockdown-economy.html
Source: New York Times #May5
#Unemployment #Discontent #Pandemic #ShanghaiLockdown #Covid19
//Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.
As China battles its worst coronavirus outbreaks, its uncompromising determination to eliminate infections has left millions unable to work. Stringent lockdowns, hitting city after city, have forced factories and businesses to shut, sometimes for weeks, including in some of the country’s most important economic centers.
Two groups have been especially hard-hit: migrant workers — the roughly 280 million laborers who travel from rural areas to cities to work in sectors such as manufacturing and construction — and recent college graduates. Nearly 11 million college students, a record, are expected to graduate this year...
Yang Jiwei, a 21-year-old from Anhui Province, worked as a waiter in Shanghai when the lockdown began. His residence, shared with four other people, had no kitchen supplies, so they could not cook the few packages of vegetables and meat that local officials had provided. He had been eating a dwindling supply of instant noodles...
But the official unemployment figures are widely considered an undercount. They do not capture many migrant workers, and they also count people as unemployed only if they are able to start working within two weeks. That would exclude people under extended lockdowns or the growing numbers of young people deferring job searches...//
Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/china-shanghai-covid-lockdown-economy.html
Source: New York Times #May5
#Unemployment #Discontent #Pandemic #ShanghaiLockdown #Covid19
NY Times
‘I’m Very Anxious’: China’s Lockdowns Leave Millions Out of Work
Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.
An investigation compares the number of fixed penalty ticket issued and local COVID cases over the past 2 years. There is no correlation between them.
#GroupGathering #COVID19 #GoHKgraphics
#GroupGathering #COVID19 #GoHKgraphics
#Pandemic #Covid19
Key Indicator Shows #China’s #Economy Set For Further Slump
//Just when you thought China might be back on track, a key economic indicators suggests the opposite is coming down the pike.
Recently the price of iron-ore slumped, indicating that demand for this key ingredient in steel making is slipping as well. Recently one metric ton of the or would fetch $116, down more than 25% from almost $160 in early March, according to data from TradingEconomics. That’s quite a tumble.
That matters because steel has long been the lifeblood of that country’s economy....
What’s shocking here is that while China is in midst of undoing some of its recent COVID-19-related lockdowns that brought vast swathes of the communist country to an economic standstill. If those locked-down cities were now getting back to work, then why aren’t we seeing signs of an industrial resurgence?
So far, that’s not clear. If things were getting back to any form of normal then we should see demand for iron-ore creep up and along with it the prices of the mineral should rally.
Investors in Chinese stocks or even those listed in Hong Kong should remain cautious until we see evidence of a real recovery.//
Source: Forbes #Jun27
https://t.co/XrJ4mhyoD1
#Iron #IronOre #Lockdown #FinancialDownturn
Key Indicator Shows #China’s #Economy Set For Further Slump
//Just when you thought China might be back on track, a key economic indicators suggests the opposite is coming down the pike.
Recently the price of iron-ore slumped, indicating that demand for this key ingredient in steel making is slipping as well. Recently one metric ton of the or would fetch $116, down more than 25% from almost $160 in early March, according to data from TradingEconomics. That’s quite a tumble.
That matters because steel has long been the lifeblood of that country’s economy....
What’s shocking here is that while China is in midst of undoing some of its recent COVID-19-related lockdowns that brought vast swathes of the communist country to an economic standstill. If those locked-down cities were now getting back to work, then why aren’t we seeing signs of an industrial resurgence?
So far, that’s not clear. If things were getting back to any form of normal then we should see demand for iron-ore creep up and along with it the prices of the mineral should rally.
Investors in Chinese stocks or even those listed in Hong Kong should remain cautious until we see evidence of a real recovery.//
Source: Forbes #Jun27
https://t.co/XrJ4mhyoD1
#Iron #IronOre #Lockdown #FinancialDownturn
Forbes
Key Indicator Shows China’s Economy Set For Further Slump
Just when you thought China might be back on track, a key economic indicators suggests the opposite is coming down the pike.
#China uses #coronavirus warning app to stifle #dissent
//China's #COVID19 warning app enables health authorities to move quickly against a virus outbreak. But it seems officials also use the app to stop perfectly healthy people from doing what Beijing doesn't want them to do. And the target is dissidents.//
Watch the video:
https://www.dw.com/en/china-uses-coronavirus-warning-app-to-stifle-dissent/av-62501253
Source: DW #Jul17
#HealthCode #MassSurveillance #Beijing #Authoritarianism
//China's #COVID19 warning app enables health authorities to move quickly against a virus outbreak. But it seems officials also use the app to stop perfectly healthy people from doing what Beijing doesn't want them to do. And the target is dissidents.//
Watch the video:
https://www.dw.com/en/china-uses-coronavirus-warning-app-to-stifle-dissent/av-62501253
Source: DW #Jul17
#HealthCode #MassSurveillance #Beijing #Authoritarianism
Studies point to China's #HuananMarket as #epicenter of #Covid19, wildlife trade associated
The following is excerpted from a statement released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (#AAAS), which is the publisher of the peer-reviewed journal "Science", on July 26, 2022:
//Two studies published in #Science by #MichaelWorobey et al. and #JonathanPekar et al. use complementary approaches – involving spatial and environmental analyses, as well as molecular analyses – to provide evidence that the Huanan market in #Wuhan, China, was the early epicenter for the COVID-19 #pandemic.
The scientists concluded that SARS-CoV-2 was very likely present in live mammals sold at this market in late 2019 and suggest the virus spilled over into people working or shopping there ... //
Read more:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959879
Source: AAAS; Canada TV #Jul27
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/studies-suggest-covid-19-likely-emerged-from-wuhan-market-1.6003139
#WuhanPneumonia
The following is excerpted from a statement released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (#AAAS), which is the publisher of the peer-reviewed journal "Science", on July 26, 2022:
//Two studies published in #Science by #MichaelWorobey et al. and #JonathanPekar et al. use complementary approaches – involving spatial and environmental analyses, as well as molecular analyses – to provide evidence that the Huanan market in #Wuhan, China, was the early epicenter for the COVID-19 #pandemic.
The scientists concluded that SARS-CoV-2 was very likely present in live mammals sold at this market in late 2019 and suggest the virus spilled over into people working or shopping there ... //
Read more:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959879
Source: AAAS; Canada TV #Jul27
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/studies-suggest-covid-19-likely-emerged-from-wuhan-market-1.6003139
#WuhanPneumonia
#IMF cuts global growth outlook amid US, #China slowdowns
//Surging inflation and severe slowdowns in the United States and China prompted the IMF Tuesday [July 26, 2022] to downgrade its outlook for the global economy this year and next, while warning that the situation could get much worse...
"The outlook has darkened significantly since April," said IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. "The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession, only two years after the last one."
"The world's three largest economies, the United States, China and the euro area are stalling with important consequences for the global outlook," he said at a briefing.
...China's economy is expected to slow dramatically in 2022, expanding just 3.3 percent -- the lowest in more than four decades other than the 2020 pandemic crisis -- due to Covid concerns and the "worsening crisis" in the property sector, the report said.
"The slowdown in China has global consequences: lockdowns added to global supply chain disruptions and the decline in domestic spending are reducing demand for goods and services from China's trade partners," the report said.//
Read more:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220726-imf-cuts-global-growth-outlook-amid-us-china-slowdowns
Source: France 24 #Jul26
#Economy #Pandemic #Covid19
//Surging inflation and severe slowdowns in the United States and China prompted the IMF Tuesday [July 26, 2022] to downgrade its outlook for the global economy this year and next, while warning that the situation could get much worse...
"The outlook has darkened significantly since April," said IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. "The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession, only two years after the last one."
"The world's three largest economies, the United States, China and the euro area are stalling with important consequences for the global outlook," he said at a briefing.
...China's economy is expected to slow dramatically in 2022, expanding just 3.3 percent -- the lowest in more than four decades other than the 2020 pandemic crisis -- due to Covid concerns and the "worsening crisis" in the property sector, the report said.
"The slowdown in China has global consequences: lockdowns added to global supply chain disruptions and the decline in domestic spending are reducing demand for goods and services from China's trade partners," the report said.//
Read more:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220726-imf-cuts-global-growth-outlook-amid-us-china-slowdowns
Source: France 24 #Jul26
#Economy #Pandemic #Covid19
France 24
IMF cuts global growth outlook amid US, China slowdowns
Surging inflation and severe slowdowns in the United States and China prompted the IMF Tuesday to downgrade its outlook for the global economy this year and next, while warning that the situation could…
China Must Stick With Covid Zero Policy, People’s Daily Says
The Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper endorsed the country’s Covid Zero policy for the second day in a row, dousing hopes that President Xi Jinping will relax controls soon after a key political meeting starting later this week.
Covid Zero is “sustainable” and the country must stick to the strategy because it’s key to stabilizing the economy and protecting lives, the People’s Daily said in a commentary Tuesday. It follows a similar article Monday labeling the stringent pandemic approach as “scientific and effective.” State news agency Xinhua also published a column that said the country can’t be complacent on the virus.
Source: Bloomberg #Oct11
#China #Covid19 #Policy
https://t.co/DTaPZEe1LH
The Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper endorsed the country’s Covid Zero policy for the second day in a row, dousing hopes that President Xi Jinping will relax controls soon after a key political meeting starting later this week.
Covid Zero is “sustainable” and the country must stick to the strategy because it’s key to stabilizing the economy and protecting lives, the People’s Daily said in a commentary Tuesday. It follows a similar article Monday labeling the stringent pandemic approach as “scientific and effective.” State news agency Xinhua also published a column that said the country can’t be complacent on the virus.
Source: Bloomberg #Oct11
#China #Covid19 #Policy
https://t.co/DTaPZEe1LH
Zero-Covid: How Xi's flagship policy is spoiling his party
The idea was to have China in stable and tip-top shape when thousands of delegates gather in Beijing to usher in a historic third term in power for Xi Jinping.
However, the coronavirus is not playing nicely.
In recent weeks, tens of millions of people have again been confined to their homes in lockdowns across 60 towns and cities and this is bringing political pressure on the man who has become the most powerful Chinese figure since the first Communist-era leader Mao Zedong.
The government's ongoing "Dynamic zero-Covid" strategy is inextricably linked to Mr Xi. Its success is his success. Its failure? Well, it would be a brave person who tried to pin it on him.
Source: BBC News #Oct07
#China #Covid19 #ZeroCovid #XiJinping
https://t.co/xhgjq0TUKX
The idea was to have China in stable and tip-top shape when thousands of delegates gather in Beijing to usher in a historic third term in power for Xi Jinping.
However, the coronavirus is not playing nicely.
In recent weeks, tens of millions of people have again been confined to their homes in lockdowns across 60 towns and cities and this is bringing political pressure on the man who has become the most powerful Chinese figure since the first Communist-era leader Mao Zedong.
The government's ongoing "Dynamic zero-Covid" strategy is inextricably linked to Mr Xi. Its success is his success. Its failure? Well, it would be a brave person who tried to pin it on him.
Source: BBC News #Oct07
#China #Covid19 #ZeroCovid #XiJinping
https://t.co/xhgjq0TUKX
UK Media: China had been stocking PPEs months before the pandemic outbreak
Three years since the COVID-19 pandemic has started, US former officials revealed that China had been stocking personal protective equipment a few months before announcing the pandemic, including limiting exports of these products and purchasing them from the West. This showed that the CCP tried to hide the truth about the pandemic, confirming the theory of a Wuhan laboratory creating the coroanvirus.
The Daily Telegraph reported on 8 Oct that China had been stocking PPEs a few months before announcing the COVID-19 pandemic, including limiting the exports of gowns and masks. At the same time, China purchased these PPEs from Europe, US and Australia. These foundings raised suspcision on the source of the coronavirus and the time of the outbreak.
Source: RFA #Oct10
#China #COVID19 #PPE #Pandemic
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/covid-10102022113254.html
Three years since the COVID-19 pandemic has started, US former officials revealed that China had been stocking personal protective equipment a few months before announcing the pandemic, including limiting exports of these products and purchasing them from the West. This showed that the CCP tried to hide the truth about the pandemic, confirming the theory of a Wuhan laboratory creating the coroanvirus.
The Daily Telegraph reported on 8 Oct that China had been stocking PPEs a few months before announcing the COVID-19 pandemic, including limiting the exports of gowns and masks. At the same time, China purchased these PPEs from Europe, US and Australia. These foundings raised suspcision on the source of the coronavirus and the time of the outbreak.
Source: RFA #Oct10
#China #COVID19 #PPE #Pandemic
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/covid-10102022113254.html
Italian Health Secretary: China Teaches the World What Not to Do in a Pandemic
Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci sharply criticised China's anti-pandemic measures in a presentation at the Italian Parliament on Thursday.
He said that China has taught a lesson to the world on what not to do when fighting against the virus. He calls on all countries to never use China-style measures to fight a virus.
Schillaci also indicates that no new variant was found from the import cases from China as of 30/12. However, Italy has to be aware of the risks posed by China's pandemic, but there is no need to panic.
The health minister also commented on the anti-pandemic policy of China, calling it an exercise in self-contradiction. He added that the recent situation in some Chinese mega-cities would be unacceptable in democratic countries.
#Italy #China #OrazioSchillaci #COVID19 #Pandemic #Lockdown #Democracy
Source: Europe Chinese #Dec30
http://europechinese.blogspot.com/2022/12/blog-post_99.html
Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci sharply criticised China's anti-pandemic measures in a presentation at the Italian Parliament on Thursday.
He said that China has taught a lesson to the world on what not to do when fighting against the virus. He calls on all countries to never use China-style measures to fight a virus.
Schillaci also indicates that no new variant was found from the import cases from China as of 30/12. However, Italy has to be aware of the risks posed by China's pandemic, but there is no need to panic.
The health minister also commented on the anti-pandemic policy of China, calling it an exercise in self-contradiction. He added that the recent situation in some Chinese mega-cities would be unacceptable in democratic countries.
#Italy #China #OrazioSchillaci #COVID19 #Pandemic #Lockdown #Democracy
Source: Europe Chinese #Dec30
http://europechinese.blogspot.com/2022/12/blog-post_99.html
Blogspot
意衛生部長：中國教曉世界抗疫不要做什麼
意大利衛生部長 Orazio Schillaci 【文首截圖中；來自安莎通訊社】週四向國會匯報中國疫情爆發對意大利的風險時，猛烈抨擊中國的防疫手法，表示中國給全世界上了一課，展示出對抗疫症時不要做什麼，呼籲所有國家以後永遠都不要再用中國模式抗疫。
China is set to open reopen its borders on January 8 after scrapping its draconian zero-COVID strategy as large-scale outbreaks sweep through its population.
WHO criticized the nation of 1.4 billion for under-representing the severity of its outbreak, calling China's data "incomplete".
Many countries have since imposed restrictions on travellers from China, a response the WHO has called "understandable". The list of countries continues to be growing.
source:
Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/2/which-countries-have-placed-covid-curbs-on-travellers-from-china
Time
https://time.com/6243967/covid-travel-restrictions-china/
#ChinaReopening #WuhanPneumonia #COVID19 #TravelRestriction
WHO criticized the nation of 1.4 billion for under-representing the severity of its outbreak, calling China's data "incomplete".
Many countries have since imposed restrictions on travellers from China, a response the WHO has called "understandable". The list of countries continues to be growing.
source:
Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/2/which-countries-have-placed-covid-curbs-on-travellers-from-china
Time
https://time.com/6243967/covid-travel-restrictions-china/
#ChinaReopening #WuhanPneumonia #COVID19 #TravelRestriction