The International Monetary Fund also reduced its prediction of Chinese economic growth and warned that the global flow for industrial goods could be disrupted.
After the first round easing last Wednesday, almost 12 million residents of the city of 25million are now allowed to go outside. Wu Ganyu, a health official, stated at a news conference that this was the second round. Wu stated that the virus had been “effectively controlled” in certain parts of the city for the first time.
Wu said that more than 4,000,000 people have been included in areas where status has changed from being closed to controlled. Wu said that some people aren’t allowed to leave their homes and that large gatherings are forbidden.
The IMF’s forecast for Chinese growth in this year’s Chinese economy has been reduced to 4.4% from 4.8%, due to the closures of Shanghai and other industrial centres. This is almost half of the 8.1% growth last year and less than the 5.5% target by The ruling Communist Party.
China’s latest infected surge has seen a relatively small number of cases, but the ruling party enforces a “zero COVID” strategy which has closed major cities and isolated every case.
The government reported 19,927 cases of new disease in China’s mainland on Wednesday. Only 2,761 had symptoms. Shanghai was responsible for 95%, or 18902 cases. Of those 2,495 had symptoms,
According to the Shanghai city health agency, seven people with COVID-19 died Tuesday. However, they said that the deaths were caused by cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. Only two of the seven people who died from COVID-19 were older than the rest.
After a rise in infection rates, Shanghai closed down its businesses and moved most of its residents to their homes. This led to complaints about a lack of food and medicine. Shanghai residents who have tested positive for the disease but do not have symptoms were ordered to quarantine centers in public buildings and exhibition halls.
According to official data, economic growth for the first three months this year was lower than that of the last quarter of 2021.
According to an IMF report, China’s lockdowns “will likely increase supply disruptions elsewhere” and could cause inflation pressure to rise.
Although the ruling party promises tax refunds and other assistance to businesses, it is not spending large amounts of stimulus money. Economists believe that this strategy won’t show any results quickly and Beijing may need to increase or decrease interest rates.
Chinese leaders promised to lower the economic and human cost of anti-disease control by moving to a “dynamic clearing strategy” that isolates smaller areas and neighborhoods rather than whole cities. Many areas are now imposing more strict controls, despite Shanghai officials being criticized for not being aggressive enough.
The Ministry of Agriculture also ordered local officials Wednesday to refrain from taking any steps that could affect spring planting by China’s 1.4 million people. Following warnings that wheat production might be interrupted, the order was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. This would increase demand and drive up already high global prices.
According to the government, 26,760 people were found to have tested positive for HIV but did not show any symptoms. They were released from observation Wednesday. This includes 25,411 from Shanghai, where some residents have complained that they are not clean.
Other trading and industrial centers include Changchun, Jilin, Shenyang and Shenyang in northeast. The port of Tianjin east to Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south have all closed their businesses or imposed travel restrictions.
Global automakers and other producers stopped or reduced production when suppliers couldn’t deliver.
Volkswagen AG announced this week that its Changchun plant has resumed production. The automaker was also considering when it would reopen its Shanghai facility. BMW AG announced that its Shenyang factory has reopened.
While some cities were relaxing controls, Harbin’s government, a city with 5.3 million inhabitants in the northeast suspended subway and bus service Wednesday and prohibited the public from moving around the district.
