Friday, May 27, 2022

Shanghai heading out of lockdown but China still lost in economic gloom

Pandemic-hit Shanghai, China's financial hub, unveiled more post-lockdown plans on Thursday as it moves towards a return to normalcy, but a country-wide economic recovery is still a distance away, heightening a sense of urgency for more support.

The city of 25 million people, which is set to officially emerge from its lockdown on June 1, has been cautiously easing Covid-19 curbs, allowing more of its population to venture out and putting more vehicles back onto its once busy streets.

China's biggest city by economic output has suffered due to the lockdown imposed in early April.

China will strive to achieve "Reasonable" GDP growth in the second quarter, Li told thousands of government officials across the country in an online conference.

Shanghai-based China Eastern said passenger numbers sank 90.7 per cent in April from a year earlier.

Offering a glimmer of hope, the China Passenger Car Association said on Thursday that national vehicle sales rose 34 per cent in the first three weeks of May compared with the corresponding period in April.

"As long as China does not relax its Covid policy, any other policy measures are of little value right now," said an automotive fastener factory owner surnamed Zheng in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

https://www.asiaone.com/china/shanghai-heading-out-lockdown-china-still-lost-economic-gloom 

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