Push Admin

US envoy sees China lockdowns extending into 2023

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A delivery worker leaves packages  EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/06/16/20220616-under-quarantine-epa-efe.jpg"/><figcaption>A delivery worker leaves packages in front of an area under quarantine, in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2022. <em>Alex Plavevski, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>China is likely to keep imposing sweeping lockdowns into 2023, the US ambassador said Thursday, as he cautioned that the zero-COVID strategy was hurting business.</p><p>&quot;I think we are going to have to live with this for a long time. My own assumption is that we&#x27;ll see the continuation of zero-COVID probably into the beginning of 2023,&quot; Ambassador Nicholas Burns told the Brookings Institution.</p><p>Burns, speaking to the Washington think tank by video link from Beijing, said that the lockdowns were disrupting supply chains and making foreign businesses wait before considering further investment.</p><p>&quot;This is just too important a market for countries to leave, so we don&#x27;t see a lot of companies leaving lock, stock and barrel,&quot; Burns said.</p><p>But from his conversations with US businesses, Burns said, &quot;I think there is a lot of hesitancy to invest in future obligations until they see the end of this.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/09/22/shanghai-to-lock-down-test-27m-as-covid-fears-linger">Shanghai to lock down and test 2.7 million as COVID fears linger</a></li></ul><p>The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai in a recent survey said that one quarter of US firms were scaling back investment plans and nearly all were dropping revenue forecasts after the lockdown in the business hub.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/17/22/shanghai-says-zero-covid-achieved-but-millions-still-in-lockdown">Shanghai says &#x27;zero-COVID&#x27; achieved but millions still in lockdown</a></li></ul><p>COVID-19 was first detected in the final days of 2019 in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, which saw rare public displays of anger over the government&#x27;s failure to stop its spread.</p><p>Beijing has since vowed to defeat the global pandemic and is the only major economy trying to prevent any cases, imposing mass testing requirements and forcing millions of people at a time to stay at home.</p><p>Burns said that the lockdowns also impeded diplomacy with China, whose relationship with the United States he recently described as falling to the lowest point since the establishment of ties a half-century ago.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s difficult to convince any of my colleagues in Washington to come here if I tell them that if they do it they&#x27;ve got to quarantine for 14 days before they can have a single meeting,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2004606" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai in a recent survey said that one quarter of US firms were scaling back investment plans.