All of this happened in China this week. A thread. 1/10
Economy first. Some Chinese cities are allowing Covid-positive employees back to work. Avoiding mass absenteeism is crucial in order to meet year-end production targets. Volkswagen's Covid-free workers are on extended hours to make up for lost output. 2/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
More reopening. Arrivals in Macau no longer need to undergo PCR testing and China may scrap hotel quarantine for overseas travelers next month. Hong Kong allows people to go to bars without first proving they don't have Covid via rapid tests. 3/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Exit wave. China is likely seeing 1 million Covid infections per day. Not all deaths are being recorded. Shanghai's hospitals and funeral homes are crowded, streets are empty. Measures of mobility like traffic congestion and subway usage are slumping. 4/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Foreign relations. Australia's envoy visits Beijing. Xi tells Russia's Medvedev that he wants peace in Ukraine. China's top contender to become foreign minister is Qin Gang, who as ambassador to the US has shown a softer side to diplomacy. 6/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
South China Sea. Western officials say China is building up several unoccupied land features in the area, which Beijing denies. China has asserted rights to more than 80% of the South China Sea based on a 1947 map. 7/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Cross border expansion. China will for the first time allow residents to trade shares of foreign companies listed in HK, positioning the city as an attractive venue for global IPOs. Incidentally, HKEX just opened an office in New York. 8/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
A telling off. Tencent's billionaire co-founder Pony Ma delivers a rant about slacking, oblivious and corrupt employees. โYou canโt even survive as a business, yet youโre chilling on the weekends, playing ball,โ Ma says at the town hall. 9/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Pro business. That's the message from this year's Central Economic Work Conference, where China's top officials pledged to revive consumption and support the private sector. One goal is to โforcefully revive market confidence.โ Strong words. 10/10
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
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