Chinese factories were slow to reopen even after the extended Lunar New Year holiday came to end. One week after most of the country officially went back to work on 10th February, more than half of large industrial firms remained closed. That has now changed. Earlier this week, in China’s five largest provinces, over 80% of firms had reopened. But things are still far from back to normal. Even in Zhejiang, where almost all large factories have officially now re-opened, output reportedly remains around 25% below normal levels. Production will remain subdued for some time given that labour shortages may take weeks to resolve and domestic demand is unlikely to rebound fully until fear of infection fades.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services