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Three quarters of European companies operating in China are affected by Beijing’s inflexible “zero Covid” policy, according to an annual survey carried out by the European Union Chamber of Commerce, which denounces in its report the inconsistencies of the measures imposed by the Chinese government.
China is the last major economy to maintain a strict coronavirus health strategy. Since 2020, the country’s borders have been almost completely closed. Placements in quarantine, targeted confinements or generalized and compulsory PCR tests prevent a return to normal.
The enormous uncertainty linked to anti-Covid measures is penalizing the activity of the world’s second largest economy, with many businesses closed, tourism at half mast and very disrupted production chains.
European companies are absorbing part of this shock, with negative consequences for 75% of them. 23% of companies surveyed are seriously considering investing outside of China. A record in more than ten years.
This “zero Covid” strategy, defended tooth and nail by President Xi Jinping, is increasingly contested by business circles in China. They are alarmed at the threats posed by the confinements to the country’s economy. A waste of time, deplores the European Chamber of Commerce. Right now, ideology trumps economics.
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