32 China The EconomistMarch 14th 2020
2 dent, perhaps to show that the authorities
are heeding complaints. During his trip to
Wuhan, Mr Xi also made a rare nod to pub-
lic anger. “The masses in Hubei, Wuhan
and other areas hard-hit by the epidemic
have been in self-isolation for a long time,”
he said. “They have some emotions to vent.
We must understand this and be tolerant
and forgiving. We must continue to step up
the intensity of our work in all aspects.”
Mr Xi may have had in mind an eruption
of emotion on March 6th, when Wuhan’s
recently appointed party boss, Wang
Zhonglin, told officials that a campaign of
“gratitude education” was needed to make
sure local people understood the impor-
tant role that Mr Xi and the party had
played in their deliverance. His words, car-
ried in local newspapers, provoked outrage
on social media and were swiftly deleted
from websites. The party chief of Hubei,
Ying Yong, also newly appointed, made a
statement clarifying that “Wuhan people
are heroes” and that he was sincerely grate-
ful to them. The party probably hopes that
Mr Xi’s visit will help to assuage some of
the public’s anger.
There is plenty of it bubbling up online,
and not always about the government’s
handling of the epidemic. People have
been fuming about officials’ lax controls
over construction projects, after the col-
lapse on March 8th of a hotel in the coastal
province of Fujian that had been requisi-
tioned for use as a quarantine centre.
Around 30 people died. The victims were
travellers who had returned from other
parts of the country and who were being
kept in precautionary isolation for 14 days.
Many people have also been venting about
a proposed regulation that would make it
easier for certain foreigners to gain perma-
nent residency (see Chaguan).
Mr Xi may find it hard to choose his mo-
ment to declare complete success. As peo-
ple gradually get back to work, there is a
risk that the virus may begin to spread
more widely again in China. That may lead
to renewed lockdowns. The party appears
to remain intent on treating the virus as
something that can be conquered, rather
than—as some other governments are han-
dling it—something that can only be hin-
dered from spreading too rapidly.
In Wuhan, Mr Xi was careful not to
sound triumphant. “Through arduous ef-
forts, there has been a positive turn for the
better in epidemic containment in Hubei
and Wuhan. Important interim results
have been achieved,” he said. But he also
said there should be “no slackening at all”
in anti-virus work. That will not be music
to the ears of people in Wuhan and many
other parts of China where draconian quar-
antine measures may have helped to curb
the epidemic, but at no small cost, not least
for firms and people in need of medical
care unrelated to covid-19. 7N
ext to arow of idle tractors on the
edge of a field in Zhaoquanying, a vil-
lage on the outskirts of Beijing, sits a row of
wheat farmers. Like almost all Chinese
when outdoors these days, they are wear-
ing face masks because of the epidemic of
covid-19. Their gaze is fixed on their smart-
phones because, they say, there is not
much else to do. “The ground is still too
hard,” says one. “But we’re ready to plant
when the time is right.” As the weather
warms, that day is imminent. It is one that
they, and many government officials, have
been worrying about.
In mid-February, at the peak of the
coronavirus outbreak, some of China’s ag-
ricultural experts said it was “unclear”
whether spring planting could happen on
time. They worried that massive disrup-
tions to transport caused by virus-contain-
ment measures could affect the delivery of
inputs such as fertiliser on which farmers
rely (see chart). They also feared that quar-
antine controls would prevent seasonal
workers from getting to farms where their
labour is needed for planting. On February
25th China’s president, Xi Jinping, and the
prime minister, Li Keqiang, issued instruc-
tions on the need to “stabilise” agriculture.
They called for an “all-out effort” to ensure
that the epidemic did not affect the plant-
ing of vital crops.
Much of China’s economy shudders
with uncertainty about the damage caused
by covid-19. But many firms still hope they
can recoup at least some of their losses.
Some cancelled events will be rescheduled.
Some of the cars or refrigerators that were
not sold during the shutdown will be
snapped up when things return to normal.Farmers, however, cannot accept any dis-
ruption. To avoid a total loss for the season,
they must start their spring planting soon.
At stake is not only the welfare of the 40%
of China’s people who live in the country-
side and depend on agriculture, but the sta-
bility of the national food supply.
In the two months since the outbreak
began, China has already felt covid-19’s im-
pact on supplies of some food. Restrictions
on the movement of people have left la-
bour-intensive slaughterhouses under-
staffed, squeezing meat production. This
follows the severe damage already done to
pork supplies by an outbreak of African
swine fever, an animal disease that struck
China in 2018 and led to the loss of 40% of
China’s pigs. Pork prices have tripled since
early last year.Fertiliser freeways
In response to the leadership’s calls, local
officials have been pulling out the stops to
ensure planting proceeds. They have set up
“green channels” for lorries carrying agri-
cultural necessities so they do not get de-
layed at checkpoints and toll booths (tolls
have been waived on all highways since
February 15th). Bureaucrats have a strong
incentive: promotions, they have been
told, will depend on how effectively they
ensure that farmers can do their work this
spring. Officials have been trying to make
life easier for farmers in other ways, too,
such as by reducing land-use fees and di-
recting state-owned banks to give them
loans on easy terms.
In Zhaoquanying, together with a faint
scent of manure, there is a hint of opti-
mism in the air. The farmers say their
wheat planting will go ahead as usual. In
the nearby village of Hongtongying, some
vegetable farmers have just taken delivery
of several lorry-loads of plastic film for use
on the greenhouses they erect over their
fields. The shipment arrived on time from
the eastern city of Hangzhou, some
1,300km (800 miles) away. Everything else
they need is already in place, they say. Still
missing, however, are migrant workers
from other provinces, who have been held
up by epidemic-related travel restrictions.
“They’ll get here when they can, but until
then we will manage,” says one of the men.
Recovery will be slower in Hubei, the
province hardest hit by covid-19, and that is
no small matter. It is one of the country’s
main sources of chemical fertiliser. Last
year it produced nearly a tenth of China’s
rice. But agricultural experts say most of
China’s farmers are likely to muddle
through the busy season ahead. The gov-
ernment has made clear that spring plant-
ing must be carried out without delay, says
Thomas Luedi of Bain & Company, a con-
sultancy. “They built two hospitals in about
a week,” he notes, so they can probably get
the grains sown on time, too. 7ZHAOQUANYING
The epidemic has been causing
problems in the countryside, tooCovid-19 and farmersThe other 40%
Plant-food power
China, tonnes mSource:NationalBureauofStatistics3002001000
19102000Grain productionSoyabeansMaizeWheatRice806040200
18102000Consumption of
chemical fertiliser