End of the zero-Covid policy: Corona wave depressed Chinese economy in December Fewer car registrations in 2022 – but the average car has 208 hp

The wave of infections after the end of the zero-corona policy clearly weighed on the Chinese economy in December. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published on Tuesday by the Chinese business magazine ‘Caixin’ fell from 49.4 to 49 points last month.

If the index falls below 50 points, economic activity is assumed to be slowing down for the companies taking part in the survey.

While the lockdowns and the uncertainties of the strict zero-corona policy have mainly been responsible for China’s economic weakness in recent months, business is now hampered by the high number of infections.

China abruptly lifted its strict corona measures on December 7. Since then, the virus has spread rapidly. Many metropolises sometimes resembled ghost towns because many people were sick and others hardly left their homes for fear of contamination. Hospitals are overcrowded and many crematoriums can no longer cremate the corpses fast enough.

The turnaround in corona policy was officially justified by the fact that infections with the new Omikron variants were no longer so difficult. But experts saw the reason mainly in the fact that the strict measures could no longer be maintained given the explosive spread and the increasing discontent among the population.

After the current corona wave has leveled off, economists expect the second largest economy to recover over the course of the year. (sda/dpa)