As China tightens Covid curbs, foreign companies witness all-time low

HONGKONG: Foreign companies in China are on the verge of closure due to severe losses because of stringent Covid curbs and other movement restrictions, Channel Asia reported.

Beijing announced the previous week that it would shorten the quarantine periods despite a surge in Covid cases across the manufacturing hub Guangzhou, resulting in the region's lockdown.

Notably, a two-month lockdown of Shanghai's 25 million residents earlier this year and restrictions that dented production at the world's largest iPhone plant in central Zhengzhou city this month underscore China's zeal to quash outbreaks at almost any cost, Channel News Asia reported.

"How the government will handle the surge of cases there could be a litmus test for the future of China's zero-COVID policy," Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the US-based Council of Foreign Relations, wrote on Twitter, according to Channel News Asia.

Notably, China has been adhering to strict measures since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chinese government has been imposing lockdowns, and travel restrictions and conducting mass testing of people to control the spread of the virus.

The recent surge in Beijing's Covid cases comes as experts have warned that some of China's economic downtown could likely be due to the zero-COVID policy.

The stringent policy measures, which continue to remain in the headlines, appear to have no end as cities in China continue to be under lockdown due to COVID-19 cases.

The lockdown imposed by Chinese authorities has affected businesses and people's livelihoods, impacting both supply and demand. China's COVID-19 measures have resulted in distrust and outcry towards local officials and raised doubts about the zero-COVID policy.

The party congress has hinted that the COVID policy will continue in China and the party official responsible for lockdowns in Shanghai was given the second most powerful post in the party.

As per the report, COVID testing now accounts for up to 1.3 per cent of China's GDP and 7.2 per cent of public revenue.