Tag: Shutdowns (Institutional)

Tesla Sales in China Slump as Competition Intensifies

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tesla sales in china slump as competition intensifies

Tesla sales in China, the world’s largest car market, rose in 2022 but slumped in December as domestic manufacturers gained ground, according to data published Thursday. The company sold around 56,000 cars in China last month, a decline of more than 20 percent from a year earlier, and nearly 45 percent from the previous month. For the full year, Tesla’s Chinese sales rose 50 percent, according to data published by the China Passenger Car Association. China accounts for roughly 40 percent of Tesla’s sales. Concern about the carmaker’s performance there…

As Covid Spreads Fast in China, Beijing Isn’t in Lockdown. But It Feels Like It.

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as covid spreads fast in china beijing isnt in lockdown but it feels like it

Restaurants have closed because too many staff members have tested positive for Covid. The usually ubiquitous food delivery workers zipping through traffic on their scooters have nearly vanished because of infections. Pharmacies have been emptied of cold medicine, and supermarkets have been running low on the essentials: disinfectant solution, antibacterial wipes, beer. Less than a week after the Chinese government lifted its stringent “zero Covid” restrictions, Beijing looks like a city in the throes of a lockdown — this time, self-imposed by residents. Sidewalks and pedestrian shopping streets are barren,…

China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy, in Pictures

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chinas zero covid policy in pictures

For a long time during the coronavirus pandemic, China’s aggressive approach to stamping out cases worked. It has kept deaths from Covid-19 much lower than the rest of the world, most notably in comparison with the United States. But in recent months, that approach, called “zero Covid,” seemed increasingly outdated. China’s residents were still subject to snap lockdowns, mass testing and harsh quarantines while the rest of the world adapted to living with the virus. Frustrated citizens demonstrated on the streets in late November, some even calling for the Communist…

China Eases ‘Zero Covid’ Restrictions in Victory for Protesters

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china eases zero covid restrictions in victory for protesters

The Chinese government announced on Wednesday a broad easing of its exceptionally stringent Covid restrictions, an implicit concession to public discontent after mass street protests in more than a dozen cities a week ago challenged Beijing’s authority. The changes are not a complete dismantling of China’s “zero Covid” policy, but still represent a considerable loosening of measures that have dragged down the economy by disrupting daily life for hundreds of millions of people, forcing many small businesses to shutter and driving youth unemployment to nearly 20 percent, a record high.…

The Chinese Dream, Denied

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the chinese dream denied

The narrow alleyways of Haizhu district have long beckoned to China’s strivers, people like Xie Pan, a textile worker from a mountainous tea-growing area in central China. Home to one of the country’s biggest fabric markets, Haizhu houses worker dormitories and textile factories in brightly colored buildings stacked so close that neighbors can shake hands out their windows. Once a smattering of rural villages, the area became a manufacturing hub as China opened its economy decades ago. The government had promised to step back and let people unleash their ambitions,…

China Protests Over ‘Zero Covid’ Follow Months of Economic Pain

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china protests over zero covid follow months of economic pain

The toll of China’s unwavering approach to fighting Covid has rippled through the world’s second-largest economy for months: Youth unemployment reached a record 20 percent, corporate profits sagged, and economic growth fell well below Beijing’s own projections. The economic pain has intensified the pressure to ease pandemic restrictions to salvage the flagging economy and restore some semblance of normal life. Frustration with the government’s zero-tolerance Covid strategy, which has failed to prevent a big jump in cases, escalated over the weekend as a population tired of unpredictable lockdowns, extended quarantines…

Deadly Blaze in China Fuels Defiance Against Xi’s Covid Policies

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deadly blaze in china fuels defiance against xis covid policies

The fire began with a faulty power strip in a bedroom on the 15th floor of an apartment building in China’s far west. Firefighters spent three hours putting it out — too slow to prevent at least 10 deaths — and what might have remained an isolated accident turned into a tragedy and a political headache for local leaders. Many people suspected that a Covid lockdown had hampered rescue efforts or trapped victims inside their homes. Officials denied that happened. Still, many remained unconvinced, flooding social media with angry comments…

What Videos Show About the Extremes of China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy

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what videos show about the extremes of chinas zero covid policy

It has been weeks since Gao Mingjun, a 24-year-old resident of the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, saw her mother. As coronavirus cases began spreading in Zhengzhou last month, Ms. Gao’s mother, who works and lives at the city’s Foxconn industrial park — home to the world’s biggest iPhone assembly plant — told her daughter that she was barred from leaving the compound. Then, one night, Ms. Gao’s mother was ordered into a quarantine center about four miles away. She and dozens of other groggy workers were made to wait…

In China, Living Not ‘With Covid,’ but With ‘Zero Covid’

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in china living not with covid but with zero covid

SHENZHEN, China — The signs of a looming lockdown in Shenzhen, China, had been building for a while. The city had been logging a few coronavirus infections for days. Daily Covid tests were required to go pretty much anywhere. Individual buildings had been sealed off. So when a hotel employee woke me up a little after 7 a.m. to explain that we were not allowed to step outside for four days, my initial disorientation quickly turned to resignation. Of course this happened. I live in China. As the rest of…

Your Tuesday Briefing: Political Turmoil in Pakistan

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your tuesday briefing political turmoil in pakistan

Good morning. We’re covering political turmoil in Pakistan and schools reopening in the Philippines. Political tensions swell in Pakistan Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, was charged under the country’s antiterrorism act on Sunday. He is trying to stage a political comeback after he was ousted from power in April following a no-confidence vote. The charges followed a rally in Islamabad, the capital, where Khan condemned the recent arrest of one of his top aides and vowed to file legal cases against police officers and a judge involved in the…