Xi Jinping’s COVID policy slows world’s second-largest economy

Xi Jinping’s COVID policy slows world’s second-largest economy

China’s policy of “zero COVID” has led to the shutdown of major cities and global ports, resulting in falling industrial output and reduced consumer spending. As of this April, China’s retail sales had dropped 11% from the previous year, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.1%. Larry Hu, head of China economics at the Macquarie Group, told Bloomberg News, “zero-Covid at the cost of surging unemployment is a hard sell politically.” (Source: Bloomberg)