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Coronavirus: China economy set to get worse before better, official warns, as export hit looms
- China has reversed some efforts to reopen entertainment venues amid fears of second wave of infections, while exports are set to plunge
- Tens of millions of jobs at risk, with one report saying 18 million jobs in exporting industries could be lost due to overseas demand slump
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China’s economic situation could get worse before it gets better, amid a second wave of demand shock that is set to hit both domestic and foreign trade, a Chinese government official has warned.
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Addressing a press conference in Beijing on Monday, the day after President Xi Jinping toured businesses in Zhejiang province, vice-minister of industry and information technology Xin Guobin delivered a candid and downbeat assessment of the economy, in a subtle break from recent optimistic rhetoric about economic recovery.
“With the further spread of the international epidemic, China’s foreign trade situation may further deteriorate,” Xin said. “Overseas and domestic demand are both slumping, having a significant impact on some export-oriented companies. These companies might face a struggle to survive.”
The comments come after Xi said that foreign trade and small businesses must be at the heart of China’s economic recovery, after a horrible first two months of the year, in which economic data plunged to all-time lows across the board.
China is braced for a slump in global demand for the products it ships overseas, as the rest of the world now tries to get a handle on the coronavirus outbreak, two months after China placed large swathes of its own economy on lockdown.
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