Shanghai returns to lockdown and people flee

Escape from Shanghai. After long weeks of dystopian lockdown, the Chinese metropolis had reopened. Now, even before the damage of the previous closure can be counted, a new one arrives. More than half of Shanghai's 25 million inhabitants are undergoing an anti-Covid-19 swab these days, with the prospect of long periods of home confinement for those who test positive. Entire neighborhoods will go into lockdown again, a week or so after the reopening, due to very few cases. Many stories can be found on social networks of foreign residents who, in a more or less adventurous way, are literally running away from Shanghai to avoid the new lockdown.

The dystopian lockdown in Shanghai worries China and the world Drones and robot dogs are deployed by the authorities to monitor citizens and invite them to respect the rules. And the digital giants' deliveries of food and basic necessities are not enough to solve a situation involving social and political risks "Departing today from Pudong airport. A dangerous escape from Shanghai. We were working from home on Tuesday afternoon when Suddenly we received a call from our compound manager, who knew we were leaving on Friday, telling us to leave as soon as possible, "writes Dan, a US citizen, for example, in a long thread on Twitter. He adds: "My wife had a must-have business dinner, so she went while I moved our things to the hotel. An hour later Shanghai formally announced the entire block would close at midnight for 14 days (our flight was after two days) due to a single case of Covid three blocks away. My wife left dinner, ran home, delivered the cats to the cat sitter and left for the hotel with 30 minutes to On his way out, the neighbors poured into the street with suitcases, all headed for hotels. (None of our condos have ever had Covid cases, and we just went through a 61-day closure period.) "

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One of the many tales of the genre. Many of the foreign citizens who can leave the People's Republic are doing so. Many Italians are also returning, at least temporarily, precisely because of the uncertainties caused by a zero Covid strategy that continues to be pursued with great harshness.

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But many Chinese citizens also try to understand</a> how to emigrate. Not surprisingly, as reported by the China Media Project in April, the neologism "runology" (润 学) became popular on Chinese social networks. During the Shanghai lockdown, discussions on "runology" - how and where to emigrate - soared . Throughout the month of April, discussions on this term have multiplied on social media platforms. A further boost came starting on April 14, when Alibaba's vice president of technology, Jia Yangqing, told Facebook on Facebook. of his nocturnal escape from Pudong International Airport to reach California. Many Chinese young people discuss this option to find a way to escape the problems and frustrations dictated by China's approach to the pandemic and beyond, as in the posts they use that term also speaks of a worsening economic situation and civil liberties.

Online protests against the dystopian lockdown in Shanghai Sui so Chinese cials circulate posters inviting people to rebel against restrictions, for example by playing pots from balconies. Meanwhile, Taiwan takes the opportunity to soften the line on measures against Covid-19 The repercussions of lockdowns on Chinese tech giants This is not just an individual trend. Many companies and investors are also taking a step back from the Chinese market due to the uncertainty caused by the restrictions. According to data from research firm Preqin, venture capital funds focused on Southeast Asia and India have raised $ 3.1 billion so far in 2022, already approaching the $ 3.5 billion raised overall last year. year. By comparison, fundraising by China-focused venture capital funds dropped sharply from $ 27.2 billion in 2021 to just $ 2.1 billion. Beijing's tightening of the private sector, coupled with anti-Covid restrictions, are creating considerable damage to Chinese digital giants.

And companies have quietly complained, pointing out the problems caused by the government's measures. Alibaba warned that the Shanghai lockdown has affected its business. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said the closures hampered Alibaba's logistics and supply chains and affected consumer demand for non-essential goods, causing the company's revenues to contract. Bilibili began a series of layoffs in mid-May, Caixin reported. The layoffs are expected to affect 20% of the staff working with the video platform. Tencent itself has cut about 20% of its staff, especially in the gaming sector, the core business of the Pony Ma giant. This move came after having recorded the worst quarter since 2004, that is, since it was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The cause reported by the company lies precisely in the closures decided by the government in response to Covid.

Among the most explicit in indicating the lockdowns among the causes of the drop in profits was the CEO of JD.com. Xu Lei said on a conference call a few weeks ago that this year's wave caused more damage to consumers and supply chains than in the previous two years. "In the first two years, the domestic epidemic was even beneficial for the e-commerce sector, as the affected area was small and the duration was short, and there was a clear shift in offline consumption towards online consumption. . But this time around it was a double defeat for online and offline businesses, "said Xu, freshly appointed as chief executive officer. JD.com is also cutting staff, eliminating between 20 and 40% of the staff of some units. However, it is more difficult for the giants who once enriched themselves and China to escape by taking a plane from Pudong.