The Economist - USA (2020-02-15)

TheEconomistFebruary 15th 2020 35

1

R

ed bannersand an enormous qrcode

flank the iron gates of a compound for

recruitment agencies in Waigaoqiao, a

north-eastern district of Shanghai. “Scan

with WeChat and get jobs”, the banners

urge visitors, who are normally migrants

from the countryside. In any other year, on

the first day of work after the lunar new-

year holiday, people would stream to this

complex after celebrating the festival in

their ancestral villages. But this time, on

February 10th, it was all but deserted.

One firm, Yongbing Labour, had re-

opened. But its boss said only three people

had made inquiries there, compared with

over 100 on the first day back last year. May-

be the lack of jobseekers was for the best.

He said he had found no work even for

those three. In fact, he had received no re-

quests from any factory for labour, and was

thinking of closing for the rest of the week.

No one expected that business would

resume as normal this year. China is bat-

tling a new coronavirus that was detected

in December in the central city of Wuhan

and has spread swiftly nationwide and to

more than two dozen other countries.

Many local governments had extended the

holiday by ten days in an effort to contain

the outbreak. But when that period ex-

pired, officials seemed torn. They worried

about the virus’s damage to the economy,

but also about how a return to work might

affect the pathogen’s spread. In many

places they urged people to work from

home. Surging downloads of video-confer-

encing apps suggest that is happening, but

many firms remain closed. The streets of

major cities remain eerily quiet.

Official data imply that few people are

back behind desks and conveyor belts. The

number of trips taken on February 9th, the

last day of the holiday (for most) and usual-

ly a peak time for travel, was 85% lower

than the equivalent day last year. Huatai

Securities, a broker, reckons that, of those

working in China’s main cities before the

holiday, only 15-30% have returned from

their holiday trips elsewhere. Shanghai

and Beijing, among others, have stopped

arrivals and departures of long-distance

buses, the favoured mode of transport for

migrant labourers from the countryside.

In many cities, including Shanghai and

Shenzhen, companies need official per-

mission to restart. Few have been given it.

Across from Yongbing Labour is the

sprawling Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.

Just 120 of its 4,000 firms were back at work

on the first day after the holiday. To qualify,

businesses must have, for instance, an ade-

quate stock of face masks for their employ-

ees. That is a tall order given there is a huge

nationwide shortage of them, points out

Gavekal Dragonomics, a consultancy.

Some firms, including Foxconn, which

makes Apple’s iPhones, have started mak-

ing their own masks.

Some companies that have been al-

lowed to resume work are struggling. Just

one in ten of Foxconn’s workers reported

for duty at its plants in Zhengzhou and

Shenzhen on the first day, reports Reuters

The virus and the economy

Business in paralysis

BAODING AND SHANGHAI

The official holiday ends, but not the woes of firms

China

36 ReshuffleinHubei

37 Chaguan: Death of an everyman

Also in this section