Will China’s covid lockdowns add to strains on supply chains?

WHEN CHINA’S government said on March 5th that it would aim for economic growth of 5.5% this year, the target looked demanding. Now it looks almost fanciful. On March 14th China recorded 5,370 new cases of . That would be a negligible number in many countries. But in China it is an intolerable threat to its cherished zero-covid policy. The bulk of the cases are in the north-eastern province of Jilin, which has gone into a full lockdown. But lockdowns of varying severity have also been imposed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, two cities that account for more than 16% of China’s exports.In Shanghai, anyone wanting to leave the city has to show a negative result on a nucleic-acid test taken in the previous 48 hours. Parks and entertainment venues have been closed. Entire blocks of flats are locked down if anyone living in them is suspected of exposure to the virus.