Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Why China's economic rebound has fallen short of expectations

Aug 7, 2023
After China lifted its zero-COVID policy, economists expected the economy to come roaring back. That hasn't quite happened.
Consumers saddled with debt after China's housing bubble burst are less inclined to go on spending sprees.
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Shanghai lockdown a year on: Is it still the same financial hub?

Mar 27, 2023
Shanghai's 2022 lockdown, which lasted two months, left economic and psychological scars on the metropolis.
A view of Lujiazui, the financial district of Shanghai. Government media refers to the cluster of high-rises as the Manhattan of the East.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

China's big question after ending "zero-COVID" rules: How many have died?

Feb 7, 2023
David struggled to help his 83-year-old father before he died of COVID. Will his father's death be counted in China's official toll?
Hundreds of millions of people in China were infected within weeks of the abrupt end to "zero-COVID" rules, experts say. Above, patients are cared for by relatives and medical staff in the atrium of a busy hospital on Jan. 13 in Shanghai.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Lunar New Year usually meant factory slowdowns. The pandemic changed that.

Jan 20, 2023
Traditionally, workers in parts of Asia travel during the holiday to spend time with family. Here's how COVID has changed that part of the supply chain.
Lunar New Year typically marks a time of slowed production in East Asia, but that changed during COVID. Above, an employee at a carbon fiber factory in China's eastern Jiangsu province.
AFP via Getty Images

China ends zero-COVID, but are consumers ready to spend?

Jan 12, 2023
Chinese officials have lifted the harshest restrictions of the zero-COVID policy, but consumers are still cautious amid surging infections.
A tourist district in Xiamen city in late December 2022 was quiet amid a surge of COVID infections.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

China's zero-COVID whiplash

Jan 5, 2023
China has abandoned its sweeping restrictions after nearly three years. Heads are spinning from the speed of the change, and infections are spreading quickly.
A disinfection squad enters a residential building in Shanghai, responding to a confirmed COVID case. Under China's zero-COVID policy, these teams could forcibly disinfect the homes of people who contracted the virus.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

China's protesters are angry about more than just zero-COVID

Nov 30, 2022
After nearly three years of China's zero-COVID policy, citizens are exhausted and some are calling for more than just an end to the restrictions.
A Shanghai man protesting the deadly apartment fire in locked down Xinjiang holds a sign that reads: Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

Under China's new COVID rules, some face the same old restrictions

Nov 18, 2022
"It's really down to the person enforcing the rules," said one lawyer who was detained at a train station.
Some Chinese citizens are complaining of arbitrary local enforcement of strict COVID-19 policies, even after the announcement of softened virus measures.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

What it's like returning to China's zero-COVID bubble

Nov 17, 2022
China is simplifying some of the rules to enter its zero-COVID bubble, but many hurdles remain.
Passengers from Pak's flight from Toronto in November are welcomed by staff at Shanghai's Pudong airport in hazmat suits.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

Locked out of China by its zero-COVID policy, their lives changed course

Oct 5, 2022
China’s borders shut in March 2020 to contain COVID-19. It's been rough for people who made a life in China but were forced to leave.
China's rigorous COVID restrictions have made it difficult for some residents to return. Above, a woman at Hong Kong International Airport makes her way to hotel quarantine on Sept. 23.
Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images