China shuts down more than 30 million people as COVID-19 explodes

Chinese authorities on Tuesday tightened antivirus controls at ports, increasing the risk of trade disruptions following the closure of several auto and electronics factories as the government grapples with the country's worst COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began two years ago.

 China this week barred most people from leaving its coronavirus-hit northeastern province and deployed military reservists on Monday as the fast-spreading version of BA.2 "Stealth Omicron" sparked a spike in infections.

 Bus services to Shanghai, China's business capital and largest city have been suspended. The number of cases in China is small compared to other major countries or Hong Kong. However, authorities are pursuing a "zero tolerance" policy to keep the virus out of the country. He temporarily closed significant cities to detect the infected. But China's latest curbs come when the global economy is being squeezed by Russia's war in Ukraine, rising oil prices, and weak consumer demand.

Risk for port

Economists said smartphone makers and other industries could turn to factories and suppliers in other parts of China for now. But an even more significant threat arises if the business is disrupted at the nearby ports of Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Ningbo.

In the United States, "states that have no alternative depending on Chinese resources and products, such as consumer electronics and automotive components, will be hardest hit," Thomas Goldsby, a logistics expert at the University of Tennessee, said through the program. Online supply chain management via email. "Demand for mobile devices, gaming systems, and cars has been largely uninterrupted for months. More seasonal goods should weather the storm well, but manufacturers and retailers of more technologically advanced products have struggled for some time."

China's ports connect factories that assemble most of the world's smartphones and computers and medical devices, home appliances, and other goods, with foreign components suppliers and customers. Last year, a month-long delay at Shenzhen's Yantian port left thousands of shipping containers and sent shockwaves through global supply chains.