[NTDTV, Beijing, April 16, 2022]Suzhou, which is close to Shanghai, just announced a few days ago that there is no plan to close the city, and then issued two emergency notices to seal the city in disguise. Suzhou and Shanghai are both important economic zones in the Yangtze River Delta, and the blockade of the two places will inevitably have an important impact on China’s economy.
The Suzhou authorities announced at the April 12 epidemic prevention and control conference that “there are currently no plans to close the city.” But in the early morning four days later, Suzhou issued two important announcements in a row, closing the city in disguise.
The “Suzhou Release” official Weibo announcement in the early morning of April 16 stated that since 0:00 that day, Wujiang District, Wuzhong District, Xiangcheng District, Gusu District, Suzhou Industrial Park and Huqiu District (Suzhou High-tech Zone) have further escalated the epidemic. prevention and control.
All residential quarters, urban villages, dormitories, and industrial parks are under closed management, and outsiders and vehicles are not allowed to enter unless necessary.
All citizens “do not leave Suzhou unless it is necessary”, and those who need to leave must have a negative 24-hour nucleic acid test result.
Authorities recommend working from home. Those who cannot work from home must have a negative 24-hour nucleic acid test result or a nucleic acid sampling certificate on the same day.
Some netizens said bluntly, “Isn’t this announcement a disguised city closure notice?”
In addition, the Gusu District of Suzhou City also issued an emergency notice in the early morning of the 16th. From 0:00 on the same day, the south of Sucheng Avenue, the north of Waicheng River (north), the west of Yuanhetang, and the east of Xitang River are designated as control areas. “When people do not leave the community, gatherings are strictly prohibited.” At the same time, outsiders and vehicles are prohibited from entering.
Netizens in Suzhou lamented: “Suzhou is too difficult. After three days of work, I have been squatting at home for two and a half months. Except for grocery shopping, I basically stay at home to do nucleic acid.” There is nothing left of the software, and I urgently ordered some food that is easy to store and operate.” “I can go out to buy food, but I don’t dare. Fortunately, I have basically stocked up for two weeks, so it should be no problem. The hospital in Suzhou pays for it. I am empty to support Shanghai, once the epidemic breaks out, I dare not think about it.”
According to the official report, the epidemic in Suzhou has spread to 7 county-level cities (districts). Among them, Kunshan, like Shanghai, has been closed in disguised form since April 6, and a 7-day global silence management measure has been implemented.
On the 12th, Kunshan followed the example of Shanghai and implemented the “four-area management and control”.
Kunshan is an important electronic foundry town, and Taiwanese companies such as AUO and Compal have settled here. The closure of Kunshan City has affected the shipment of electronic products such as TVs and mobile phones. Industry insiders are worried that Kunshan is a major hub for the electronics industry, and the closure of Kunshan will have a greater impact on the global electronics industry than Shanghai.
Suzhou, known as Gusu and Pingjiang in ancient times, is a municipality directly under the Central Government of Jiangsu Province, and is also one of the important central cities in the Yangtze River Delta approved by the State Council, a national high-tech industrial base and a scenic tourist city.
Suzhou is close to Shanghai, about 100 kilometers apart. It only takes half an hour to reach Shanghai by high-speed rail from Suzhou. Many Suzhou people work in Shanghai and travel between the two places every day.
Since mid-March, epidemic restrictions have been imposed in at least 70 cities in China, which account for about 40% of China’s economic output.
The Associated Press said that 87 of China’s 100 largest cities in the economy have implemented some form of lockdown.
Japan’s Nomura Securities estimates that as many as 45 cities in China are still in full or partial “closure”, with nearly 400 million people living there.
Gong Shengli, a well-known independent economist, told Radio Free Asia that the daily economic loss of Shanghai’s closure is about 10 billion yuan.
He said that China’s GDP growth target this year is 5.5%, and East China, where Shanghai is located, accounts for about 2%. If Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in the surrounding areas of Shanghai are also closed, the Chinese economy may suffer an unprecedented setback.
ING, an international financial institution, pointed out that if Shanghai continues to close the city, Shanghai’s GDP will lose 6% in April, and China’s GDP will lose 2%.
The World Bank on April 5 lowered its forecast for China’s economic growth this year to 5% from 5.4%, and may drop to 4% if the outbreak exceeds expectations.
On April 13, the General Administration of Customs of the Communist Party of China announced the foreign trade import and export data for the first quarter of this year, and the overall import and export growth rate has declined. Among them, exports were 276.08 billion US dollars, with an annual growth rate of 14.7%; imports showed negative growth, with an annual decrease of 0.1%.
Li Kuiwen, a spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said that some unexpected factors in the current international and domestic environment have exceeded expectations, and China’s foreign trade development is facing many risks and challenges.
The Epoch Times columnist Wang He analyzed that the current problems of China’s economy are mainly due to policy interference. “The zero-clearing policy has caused great harm and impact to the economy.”
In addition, the CCP’s stance on the Russian-Ukrainian war is indecisive, and it has secretly supported Russia. The possible sanctions against the CCP by the West are always hanging on the head. Wang He said that these factors have brought China’s domestic and international economic environment at a turning point.
(Comprehensive report by reporter Luo Tingting/responsible editor: Wen Hui)
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