Day: May 31, 2022

Shanghai lockdown: Cheers and beers as Covid curbs are eased

Chin@Strategy

There were celebrations on the streets of Shanghai as Covid curbs were eased after a two-month lockdown. At midnight local time (16:00 GMT Tuesday), small groups were seen cheering and drinking, after restrictions were relaxed to allow most residents to move freely around the city of some 25 million people. China’s overall policy of zero Covid remains in place and those who catch the virus can still be sent to quarantine centres or hospitals. BBC

Shanghai lockdown: Relief and caution as city returns to life

Chin@Strategy

For some this was a harsh but necessary measure to contain Covid-19 and adhere to President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy which has, largely, prevented the virus which first emerged here from returning. For others it’s been a national – even international – embarrassment, spurred along by political verve, with an almost incalculable impact on the people that live and work here. BBC

Student Contest Winner: Halal Noodles in Shanghai

Chin@Strategy

This piece is one of 10 winners of our 2022 Profile Contest. You can find more here. Stephanie Chen, the author, is 16 and goes to Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus, in Shanghai. Running a Halal Noodle Shop in Shanghai By Stephanie Chen It’s lunchtime on Sunday. Sifang Beef Noodles, a little store tucked away in a gentrified corner of Pudong New Area, Shanghai, is full of hungry customers. Opened as a halal noodle store by an Indigenous Hui family, Sifang Beef Noodles has become a neighborhood staple. Haronnae Wang,…

The sheer size of the China trading relationship is why Australia has to share its feasts and famines with Beijing | Satyajit Das

Chin@Strategy

Concentration on security and regional influence has distracted from the economic relationship with China, a key foundation of Australian prosperity. A high proportion of Chinese growth has been engineered by a large government-sponsored debt-fuelled infrastructure and property bender. This underpins demand for Australian products and services boosting incomes. The data on bilateral trade reveals the importance of the China relationship. Despite trade restrictions on selected products, 35 to 40% of Australian exports go to China, and 20% of imports come from China. Chinese nationals normally constitute the largest number of…

Why China Is Miles Ahead in a Pacific Race for Influence

Chin@Strategy

SUVA, Fiji — Take a walk through the city where China’s foreign minister met on Monday with the leaders of nearly a dozen Pacific Island nations, and China’s imprint is unmistakable. On one side of Suva, the capital of Fiji, there’s a bridge rebuilt with Chinese loans and unveiled with the country’s prime minister standing beside China’s ambassador. On the other, down Queen Elizabeth Drive, sits Beijing’s hulking new embassy, where the road out front has been fixed by workers in neon vests bearing the name of a Chinese state-owned…

Shanghai starts to dismantle fences as Covid lockdown due to end

Chin@Strategy

Shanghai authorities have begun dismantling fences around housing compounds and ripping police tape off public squares and buildings, to the relief of the city’s 25 million residents, before a painful two-month lockdown is lifted at midnight. On Monday evening, some of the people allowed out of their compounds for brief walks took advantage of suspended traffic to congregate for a beer and ice cream on deserted streets, but there was a sense of wariness and anxiety among residents. Most will be stuck indoors again until midnight, as they have been…