"There is high-proof alcohol in the can," explains Steve Huang. He uses it to spray the seats and tables of his small bar in Shanghai. He wants to protect employees and customers with the disinfectant. But customers are not here. The bar in the middle of the former French concession - a district of Shanghai - is empty. "On the one hand, this has to do with the New Year holidays," says Huang. But it was clear that because of the Corona virus, people stayed at home.
He does not yet know what will happen after the New Year. «I'm a little worried about the business. But there is nothing I can do about it. » Huang is optimistic about the purpose. The bar remains open even when there are hardly any guests.
The economy is growing less rapidly
"In the short term, industries such as the hospitality industry and the hotel industry - tourism in general - are most affected," says Simon Baptist, chief economist of the Economist Intelligence Unit for Asia. Second, the manufacturing industry would feel the crisis, says the economist. Because many workers stay at home for the time being.
Economic growth in China is currently expected to be 5.9 percent this year. "If the crisis continues and the course of Sars' disease at that time, China's economic growth will be between 0.5 and one percentage point lower," Baptist predicts. The online trade, which is particularly widespread in China, could at best support the economy, he says. Because when people went out of the house less to consume, they had more goods delivered to their homes.
The online industry also needs workers
However, the online industry is also dependent on functioning supply chains, says Henry He, director of the Chinese think tank Anbound in Beijing. This only works if there are enough workers carrying the goods.
One thing is clear: the virus crisis is hitting China in an economically difficult time. This is one of the reasons why the Chinese government should do everything possible to curb the spread of the corona virus.
Sourced from: https://www.srf.ch/news/wirtschaft/menschen-bleiben-zu-hause-chinas-wirtschaft-leidet-wegen-corona-virus-2
