- 70 percent of the population in China had then been fully vaccinated
- Chinese government has slow-pedaled the approval of the American mRNA vaccines
- Chinese outbound tourism will not rebound any time soon
In mid-September ,about 70 percent of the population in China had then been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The collapse of the Evergrande property conglomerate has reemphasized the challenge China faces in reducing debt-fueled distortions in the economy, says an article published in EastAsiaForum.
A globally endemic disease
In mid-September ,about 70 percent of the population in China had then been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
But China isn’t yet ready to put the pandemic behind it, says Nick Thomas. Indeed, by embracing a more hawkish approach towards the virus than even the Asian norm, ‘China has locked itself away from most of the world with no sign yet of a strategy to live with what experts agree will be a globally endemic disease.
Chinese authorities ruthlessly extinguished community transmission with lockdowns in the first wave of infections in early 2020, with China being one of the first countries to return to normal civil and economic life.
Since then, China has attained high vaccination coverage while transmission has been low. But the luck has run out with the Delta variant.
China’s challenge is exceptional in its degree but not in its fundamental nature. The Delta variant of COVID-19 shows that slowing the spread is better, rather than eliminating it.
About the vaccine
The efficacy of local vaccines is the biggest hurdle the government faces in moving towards a post-pandemic normal.
The Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs have saved countless lives and won China goodwill via its ‘vaccine diplomacy’ abroad. But there’s no getting around the fact that they are less effective against the Delta variant than their western equivalents.
The Chinese government has slow-pedaled the approval of the American mRNA vaccines. A home-grown mRNA jab is being developed, but Chinese authorities don’t want to give people a reason to hold off on getting their jab because they feel that a ‘better’ vaccine is over the horizon.
Influence on tourism
Chinese outbound tourism will not rebound any time soon, not until at least 2024, estimates suggest. That means more pain for industries reliant on Chinese tourism from resorts in Bali and lavender farms in Tasmania to department stores on the Ginza.
Being closed off from the rest of the world results in:
- less understanding of the anxieties of other countries from China’s rise and the effects of its assertiveness
- less explaining of the Chinese perspective
- less diplomacy, information exchange and experience sharing.
Impact on economy
The collapse of the Evergrande property conglomerate has reemphasized the challenge China faces in reducing debt-fueled distortions in the economy and shifting towards the quality growth led by consumption and investment in productive economic capacity.
Recent data show that consumer spending has slumped amid the current Delta outbreak, and analysts are cutting their Chinese GDP projections for the rest of 2021.
Most lately with Beijing’s application to join the CPTPP, is a move that presents an opportunity to reinvigorate attempts to fold China into the rules-based international economic order the United States and its allies are always talking about.
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Source: East Asia Forum
