According to a report in the Global Times, this unexpected online gathering was attended by officials from all provinces, cities and municipalities. Senior Chinese officials were also in attendance, including Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who urged authorities to take action to preserve jobs and reduce unemployment.
In the worst case
The country’s economy has been hit in many different ways since the Covid-19 wave spread in March, leaving many major cities affected by blockade measures. Most notably, a financial center like Shanghai suffered for a month and a half from being unable to leave their home or surrounding areas.
According to the Global Times, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said in some ways economic effects could be seen worsening in March and April, greater than those already experienced. released in 2020 during the first outbreak of Covid-19. He pointed to a number of indicators, including the unemployment rate, declining industrial production and freight transport.
The prime minister has placed increasing emphasis on the economic downturn in recent weeks, describing the situation as “complicated and serious” in early May. However, his words on Wednesday showed the outlook. the worst.
Investment banks are lowering their forecasts for the Chinese economy this year. UBS has lowered its full-year GDP growth forecast to 3%, citing the risks of Beijing’s strict zero-covid policy. China expects growth of about 5.5% for this year. The country reported growth of 8.1% last year and 2.3% in 2020 – the lowest growth rate in decades.
The online conference took place after a meeting of the Council of State. At that meeting, authorities announced 33 new economic measures, including increasing tax refunds, expanding loans to small businesses and providing emergency loans to the struggling airline industry, Xinhua news agency said.
Some of the 33 measures above also help ease Covid-19 regulations, such as lifting restrictions on trucks traveling from low-risk areas.
Efforts to race against the pandemic
According to Xinhua, the State Council will send task forces to 12 provinces to oversee the implementation of this policy.
During the pandemic period, China has adhered to a strict zero-covid policy aimed at excluding all possibilities of widespread transmission. The country has resorted to border controls, mandatory quarantines, mass testing and rapid lockdowns.
But this strategy has been challenged by the highly contagious type of Omicron variant. The pandemic broke out across the country earlier this year, despite authorities rushing to block counties and interurban borders.
By mid-May, more than 30 cities had been completely or partially shut down, with 220 million people across the country, according to CNN calculations. Both supply and demand were destroyed when the Big Tech or consumer goods industry was unable to escape the ravages of the pandemic.
While some of those cities have reopened, the impact of that disruption is still there, with unemployment rising to its highest level since the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020.
Many companies have been forced to suspend operations, including Tesla and Volkswagen. Airbnb is the latest multinational corporation to leave the game.
The crisis still has no clear end. Authorities are still struggling to contain the spread of the virus and top leaders are still adamantly pushing for the implementation of the Zero-Covid policy.
The capital Beijing has also seen an increase in infections in recent weeks. Seven districts of this city are partially blocked, affecting nearly 14 million inhabitants. The city’s two largest districts, Chaoyang and Haidian, were also forced to close all non-essential businesses, including shopping malls, gyms and entertainment venues.
Source: CafeF
