Coronavirus News (154)

Beijing battles ‘explosive coronavirus outbreak’ as food market cases mount Scientists struggle to track source of cluster linked to massive food wholesale centre Mass testing and strict lockdowns imposed in some parts of the capital while other cities order isolation for travellers from Beijing ........   The capital has had 79 new local cases since last Thursday, all of which are linked to the Xinfadi wholesale market .........  Covering 112 hectares, the centre is the biggest of its kind in Asia and supplies food to northern provinces. ........ “Beijing is facing explosive and concentrated outbreaks even though the national epidemic has basically been blocked” ..........  Access to the areas is strictly controlled and mass coronavirus testing is under way. .........    Baoding said it would remain in “wartime” mode, while Liaoning in the north and Xiamen in Fujian province in the southeast have ordered that all people returning from some parts of Beijing isolate for 14 days. Daqing in Heilongjiang province in the northeast has demanded 21 days of isolation for travellers from Beijing. .........  Salmon was feared initially to be the source after reports that the virus was detected on a chopping board used to cut fish at the market. ..........  the virus found in Xinfadi did not appear to resemble the strain prevalent in Beijing two months ago, but was more like the one in Europe .......   76,499 samples from people in the affected areas were tested on Sunday, with 59 positive. .........  More than 6,000 of the Xinfadi market’s workers – nearly 70 per cent – have been tested, with all results negative. .......... A spokesman for the centre reminded food handlers that they should always make sure their hands were clean and they frequently cleaned and disinfected surfaces in food premises. ........ anyone who has been to Beijing within the past 14 days will have to submit to a health check. Those who have visited high-risk areas, including the Xinfadi market, will have to spend 14 days in quarantine.

Beijing district on ‘wartime’ alert after fresh coronavirus outbreak City’s biggest fruit and vegetable market shut down and nearby residential compounds put in lockdown amid seven new symptomatic cases in three days Dozens of others linked to the market tested positive but showed no signs of the disease, authorities say..........   ending the capital’s 55-day run without new local cases. ..........  The market, the biggest in the city for fruit and vegetables, was shut down completely on Saturday morning. Its meat and seafood section had already been closed. .........  Salmon was also taken off the menu of restaurants in the city after the virus was detected on cutting boards used at Xinfadi to prepare imported salmon .......  Sporting events and tour group trips to Beijing have been suspended and a return to class for pupils in kindergarten and the first three years of primary school has been put on hold. ...........  Chu said 11 residential compounds surrounding the Xinfadi market had been locked down and were under guard. Three nearby primary schools and six kindergartens had suspended classes. .........  He said the situation was similar to the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan where infections were first reported in a seafood market and later spread across the city. “If it can’t be put under control right now, the virus will affect many people in a short time because of the high density of population in cities”  

China in brace position as Five Eyes form united front Beijing can expect more concerted efforts against it from the US, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, observers say Signs of joint action emerged two years ago with Canadian arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the US ........  there was a growing understanding within the Five Eyes that taking on China alone or one at a time would not work. ...........  In the last month, the US and Britain have denounced Beijing’s decision to enact national security legislation for Hong Kong, with Britain saying the alliance would “share the burden” if Hongkongers wanted to leave the city. ..........  “The swiftness of the change in policy in the UK over 5G and agreement among Five Eyes nations to establish a D10 of democratic and like-minded countries to cooperate on 5G technology is another good example of how China’s aggressive diplomacy has quickly aligned Five Eyes nations’ strategic thinking about Chinese investments in critical infrastructure.” .......  there was now a “concerted and much more open effort among Five Eyes to focus on economic cooperation around countries with shared values and strategic thinking”. ......   And the cooperation did not stop at the five members. Citing India’s agreement to buy more barley from Australia, Blaxland said nations such as France and even Germany, Japan and India that were friendly with the alliance could work with Five Eyes to neutralise China’s moves.  

Beijing fires warning shot as Britain reconsiders China ties Concerns grow over role of Huawei and plans for Hong Kong national security law Chinese diplomats have not denied reports that it will retaliate if companies find their activities limited ........  Beijing would retaliate if Chinese business activities are limited. ........  Britain is also reviewing its plans to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei a role in the country’s 5G network over security concerns, and wants to form a D10 club of democratic partners (the G7 plus Australia, South Korea and India) to develop technology. .........  Britain’s series of actions suggest it is ready to inch closer towards Washington’s decoupling approach to China, rather than the EU’s more conciliatory stance. ...........  China has already warned Britain of the consequences of any actions it takes. ............    Beijing viewed the Huawei matter as “a litmus test of whether Britain is a true and faithful partner” ....... Chinese companies might pull out of major infrastructure projects, including nuclear power plants and a high-speed rail line. .............  “We shouldn’t give way to threats like this. The moment a country starts threatening you, it’s a country that you therefore shouldn’t be doing business with.” 

South China Sea: Beijing must learn to lead and share in disputed waters, experts say China says its island-building in the Spratlys and other areas will benefit the world, but its closest neighbours are not so sure While use of the so-called public services offered by Beijing has been limited, clashes between fishermen have been steadily rising, academic says ............  “There is only about one take-off and landing each week,” he said. “And the main users are military transport planes carrying supplies to the islands or people back and to from the mainland.”

China and US can still cooperate as competitors, Beijing’s former top trade negotiator says Long Yongtu says the two economies are too intertwined to decouple and it’s more important than ever to work together Head of team that steered China’s WTO entry in 2001 says post-pandemic relationship can be based on search for common ground ......... “Although the relationship between China and the US has been positioned as competitive, competitors don’t have to confront or clash with each other. Just like in a market economy, although many companies are competitors, competition doesn’t lead to exclusion or prevent finding a common interest. .......... “Such interdependence will not disappear simply because some people clamour for ‘decoupling’.” China’s relations with the US were “far from satisfactory”, with communications at a “standstill” ..........  The coronavirus, which causes the disease Covid-19, has infected more than 7.7 million people and killed more than 430,000 worldwide. .......... Trump last month said that “the United States wants an open and constructive relationship with China but achieving that relationship requires us to vigorously defend our national interests. The Chinese government has continually violated its promises to the US and many other nations.” .......... Trump ordered US regulators to explore ways to force Chinese companies to delist their shares from US exchanges if they do not comply with US accounting disclosure rules. 

Coronavirus: China risks being left out of new global economic order, Beijing’s former trade chief warns Long Yongtu, who led China’s negotiations to enter the World Trade Organisation, has warned Beijing to be alert to the risk of geopolitical isolation His voice adds to a chorus of warnings from former officials and advisers about China’s position in the post-coronavirus world ........ Long’s warning adds to a chorus of influential domestic voices who are increasingly concerned about the geopolitical isolation that could stem from fallout from the pandemic. ..........  doubts are growing as to whether Washington and its allies will try to exclude Beijing from a new international economic order, a theory being labelled by some Chinese experts as “de-sinicisation”. ..........  “China is also an important participant in globalisation, so when somebody begins to talk about ‘deglobalisation’, there are also voices about ‘de-sinicisation.’ ........ China’s 15-year talks that ended in accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2001. ......... The epidemic has caused huge damage to globalisation ....... urging Chinese companies to increase the pace of their international expansion. .......  The global spread of Covid-19 has significantly disrupted global supply chains, exposing the reliance of other countries on China for vital products and provoking worries over a more rapid exodus of foreign companies, a trend which has been under way throughout the US-China trade war, which began in 2018. ............ “We have no other choice but to make the yuan stronger, make the yuan an international currency. .......  the pandemic was escalating the trend of US-China decoupling, both commercially and culturally. ........ “The disruptions to industrial chains and the drastic decline in international travel are only the most visible features” ........... China’s role in the post-pandemic global supply chain could be weakened. ........... called on China to further open up its domestic market to foreign investors and for Chinese companies pursue more mergers and acquisitions abroad, to better integrate China into the new industrial chains of multinational companies.

China’s tourism sector was already in a ‘death spiral’ – and now Beijing reports a new cluster of Covid-19 cases 50 people in Beijing test positive over the weekend for the virus Most mainland Chinese people say they are worried about travelling and their finances, survey finds .........   “The tourism sector is crippled by the disease and I feel hopeless.” ........ An outbreak in Covid-19 cases in the Chinese capital of Beijing over the weekend is making some people even more skittish about climbing on a plane or a coach or a train. ..........  Beijing shut down its biggest vegetable market on Saturday and declared “wartime management” in one district after spotting a new cluster of coronavirus cases in which more than 50 people tested positive. ....... “Using common sense, bosses would have to fire people to survive the market downturn.” ........ Beijing now essentially bans all foreign travellers from visiting the mainland. (Diplomats are exempt and people can apply for special exceptions.) ..........  It is a do-or-die moment for travel businesses.” To many working in the industry, the news of the outbreak in Beijing was the final straw. ..... “It is time to consider other job options since nothing can stop the death spiral in the travel industry.”