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Beijing [China], Dec. 23 (ANI): Beijing is struggling to choose between economic recovery and Covid control, with huge impact on its economy if China re-imposes a ‘zero Covid’ policy to stem the damage from the coming Covid wave influences. Otherwise, people’s lives will be threatened. It’s a double whammy for the country, Federico Giuliani writes in Insideover.
China is facing a double whammy of COVID-19 infection and an economic crisis that are so interconnected that if you try to fix one, the other will get worse.
The number of new Covid cases is increasing rapidly, while businesses and industries are facing losses and shutdowns. According to Insideover, there are forecasts that more than 1 million people in China will die from the new crown pneumonia in the next few days.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is struggling to impose restrictions due to the negative impact on the Chinese economy.
Analysts predict that China’s economic growth rate will slip to 2.8-3.2% this year, which would be the lowest level in 50 years.
In recent weeks, China has officially acknowledged a death from the virus for the first time. Giuliani said that lends credibility to reports of a high number of deaths from the coronavirus in the country.
The crematorium was busy and bodies could be seen lying on the floor wrapped in yellow bags. Even health workers have contracted the coronavirus, disrupting first aid and crematorium services. The body must wait three days before being cremated.
This gives us a glimpse into the deteriorating situation in China. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) expects more than 1 million deaths next year, while by April 1 a third of China’s population is expected to be Covid-positive, Insideover reported.
Beijing has warned of three new waves of Covid infections in the coming months. Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that by March 2023, there may be three consecutive waves.
The flood of posts to hospitals, crematoria and social media suggests that China is facing a massive health crisis that could be worse than previous Covid waves.
“We cremated 150 bodies [in a day]many times more than a typical day last winter,” said an employee at a funeral home in the eastern suburbs of Beijing.
Another employee at the Tongzhou funeral home said the demand was mainly due to deaths from COVID-19. “We burn from morning until 10 at night. The stove can’t take it,” he said.
A few weeks ago, unprecedented public protests were triggered in different cities in China over the failure of the “zero new crown” policy.
Protesters have expressed concern over inhumane conditions and loss of livelihoods during the quarantine. It has also seen calls for the overthrow of Xi Jinping and the Communist regime.
Giuliani said that while the “zero coronavirus” policy appears to have failed to curb coronavirus infections, it has dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese economy.
Retail sales fell 5.9 percent year-on-year in November and real estate investment fell as much as 19 percent, while industrial output and fixed-asset investment slowed to 2.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, reported Insideover.
Factories and even small businesses, including restaurants, shut down suddenly, resulting in a huge loss of livelihood. Major international companies, including Apple Inc of the US and Renesas Electronics of Japan, were forced to suspend operations.
Unemployment has hit 5.7%, while unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds jumped to 17.1%. However, the Beijing government continues to impose strict restrictions under a zero-Covid policy.
It eased some restrictions after public outcry. However, warnings of a new and dire covid wave have created a catch-22, Giuliani said.
Earlier, analysts had warned Beijing that its “zero Covid” policy was hurting the country’s economy and jobs as restrictions slashed demand.
“Affected by the decline in orders, some companies have laid off workers to reduce costs,” said Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Research Institute.
Now, even if Beijing eventually abandons its “zero Covid” policy, experts don’t expect the economy to recover anytime soon. Instead, it continued to deteriorate, Insideover reported.
“I expect industrial production to fall sharply in December,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis.
A report from the World Economy Sales Managers Survey highlighted the slowdown in China’s economy and expressed the possibility of a recession in 2023.
“(The Chinese economy) may be headed for recession in 2023. The lights may not have gone out, but the outlook for economic growth in 2023 has certainly dimmed,” the report read. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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