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Several of China’s biggest cities imposed tougher COVID-19 curbs on Tuesday, further crimping the activities of tens of millions, and sparking fresh concerns for the health of a barely growing economy.
Metropolises from the southern tech hub of Shenzhen to southwestern Chengdu and the northeastern port of Dalian ordered measures such as lockdowns in big districts and business closures aimed at stamping out fresh outbreaks.
The latest curbs, which will delay the start of the school year for some, reflect China’s strict adherence to a “dynamic COVID zero” policy of quashing every flare-up.
That insistence makes it an outlier as the rest of the world tries to live with coronavirus despite the cost to the world’s second-largest economy.
While many of the measures are initially planned to run just a few days, any major escalation or extension in some of China’s biggest cities risks further hurting already tepid growth.
While the two most populous cities of Beijing and Shanghai have faced only sporadic cases recently, COVID worries still
weighed on Chinese stocks.
“Markets could once again be hit in the next couple of weeks, likely triggering another round of cuts by economists on the street,” Nomura warned in a note, highlighting the significance of cities such as Shenzhen, also a major port.
