Shanghai lockdown: What could China’s zero Covid policy mean for the world economy? - BBC Newsnight

Shanghai, the country’s leading financial hub, went into lockdown on the 28th March and public services are in chaos.

What are the barriers for China getting out of this?

And what impact will this have on not only China, but the world economy?

Newsnight’s Economics Editor Ben Chu reports.

#Newsnight #BBCNews #BBC

Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.

[pandaofsam]

"Control you soul's desire for freedom", that's the sickest quote I've heard.

[Cognitive_player]

That drone announcement in the air is the most dystopian thing I have ever heard.

[thinkbeforeleap]

0:23 The drone is saying" Please refrain your soul from longing for freedom"
My god, who came up with the line deserves an award.

[conniekai]

Zero covid policy doesn't work. The best solution is to live with covid and continue with daily life.

[hillerm]

This is my 13th day of being locked indoors. They chained our building’s door shut from the outside because one person tested positive. It’s really hard for us to order food but fortunately we’ve received a lot of free food from my employer. Our residential committee are little tyrants who are making our life harder for no reason - they’re blocking groceries from coming to our building unless it meets their “essential food” category.

[luked]

I currently have the misfortune of being in Shanghai. I’m British but this is my home.

For the last twelve days, I have been unable to leave my apartment. There are no support bubbles, no shops open, no ability to get fresh air like we had in the UK. Drones are circulating communities warning people not to leave their apartments or even open their window. There is currently no information about when restrictions might be lifted and I’m quickly running out of supplies. The stuff that is available online is massively overpriced and in such high demand that they are often gone by 6am. People in my building are rallying together to help each other and share what we have. Food packages from the government are promised but haven’t arrived and there are rumours that all deliveries will be suspended tomorrow.

Despite all this, I’m in a relatively good situation. I’m in my apartment and I’m negative. God help anyone who tests positive. They are immediately dragged away from their homes and put onto a shuttle bus, where they are sent to “quarantine facilities”. Shanghai facilities are full so some people endure lengthy bus journeys to other cities. These places are often large hangar type buildings with hundreds, sometimes thousands of beds cramped together. There is no personal space, and little natural light. In theory, two negative results is your ticket out of the hellhole but given the lack of social distancing and poor medical resources, it’s very possible that people leave feeling more ill than when they go in.


At least two people that we know of have died due to being unable to get urgent medical treatment for other illnesses. The elderly mother of a prominent political figure died outside a hospital whilst waiting for a NAT test. A pregnant woman also lost her life due to childbirth complications.

This isn’t about saving lives. This isn’t about protecting hospitals or conserving medical resources. This is all political, an ego trip from the chairman. He promised zero Covid and he would rather see people die than lose face by admitting he was wrong. It’s sickening, over a billion people losing their right to freedom, medical care, food, water and even their life because they are pawns in a party power struggle.

[XSemperIdem]

They won't even let them open their windows? That's insane.

[eltipoboricua]

This is crazy. I understand taking safty measures, but after two years and three shots.. we can move forward with life, still giving care to those with weaker immune systems.

[timothyjennings]

Is there anything more dystopian than a drone with loudspeakers telling people to "control your desire for freedom"?

[wiryantirta]

Wasn't the point of zero covid policy is to buy enough time until they can make their society more resilient to covid / pandemic? You really can't really maintain a zero-anything policy in this day age, the objective should always be more resiliency. The failure seems to be more on resiliency, not zero-covid.

[TWTcc]

If you were to write in a fictional dystopian novel, with some of the things that are coming from those drones (and the wider lockdown measures in general), it would be criticised for being unrealistic and too on the nose…

[melodysplay]

Damn this is tyranny. If government would do this lockdown, they should at least provide food or medical assistance for the people. This is crazy. They expect people not to complain or sing by this inhumane treatment.

[paulosullivan]

There is a saying in Shanghai, "The hardest part of a 5 day lockdown are the first 6 weeks"Seriously though, my friend in Shanghai told me that one of the food delivery drivers made US$1, 000 in one day. Their average salaries are around US$1, 500/month. All the residents in Shanghai have to group together and make massive orders or else the delivery drivers will ignore them. You cannot order food for one person or a family, you have to get together with at least 50 people and order in bulk and in doing so, the delivery drivers and companies are making a killing.

[marvinli]

Our local people have been locked more than 1 month, we are facing starvation risk. We have lost basic freedom as human being, as we can not go out from our home, though evertime our covid test is negative. We feel so disappointed to the govement. How can they treat common people like this.
Covid did not killed peopel in Shanghai, but the extreme lock down caused many tragedy.

[speksone]

To put things into perspective, there are 26million people in Shanghai and 25+million in the whole of Australia, so imagine the whole of Australia not being able to go outside !

[mathsdaniel]

I'm a Shanghainese local living in Shanghai and I approve this reporting.

[PsytanicA]

It's like a Resident Evil movie set in Raccoon City, only sadly this is real life now.

[Harry-muxl]

It's not just Shanghai. The strict lockdown is happening in many cities in China recently. In Changchun, Jilin, I'm forced to stay at home for 32 days now. Everything's closed, and it's hard for anyone to buy almost anything. There's no hope in sight, and all we hear from the government is that we're going to continue the zero Covid policy.

[Dan_wiles]

If the last couple of years have taught western companies anything is that they need to withdraw all involvement in China as soon as possible.

[kojo]

“Control your soul’s desire for freedom“ - very unsettling words