{"id":1494524,"date":"2022-05-27T11:59:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T15:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1494524"},"modified":"2022-05-27T11:59:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T15:59:52","slug":"china-holds-unprecedented-meeting-as-zero-covid-crushes-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-holds-unprecedented-meeting-as-zero-covid-crushes-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"China Holds Unprecedented Meeting as \u201cZero-COVID\u201d Crushes Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-holds-unprecedented-meeting-as-zero-covid-crushes-economy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1494524&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Chinese Premier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-li-keqiang\">Li Keqiang<\/a> on May 25 presided over a meeting of over 100,000 officials to issue a stark warning about the \u201cgrim challenges\u201d ahead for the country\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-economy\">economy<\/a>, which has been battered by the communist regime\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-covid-19\">COVID-19<\/a> policies.<\/p>\n<p>In a teleconference with representatives from provincial, city, and county levels of government, Li warned about the \u201capparent downward trend\u201d across employment, manufacturing, electricity, and cargo transportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe difficulties, in some aspects and to a certain degree, are even greater than 2020 when the pandemic hit hard,\u201d he told the attendees, according to a summary from Chinese state media.<\/p>\n<p>The scale of the conference, unseen for years, as well as the tone he struck in the remarks both suggest a sense of growing anxiety as the Chinese premier become increasingly vocal about the outlook of the world\u2019s second largest economy.<\/p>\n<p>A transcript of his speech posted online shows him calling for officials to \u201ctry to make sure\u201d the Chinese economy will not contract in the second quarter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal is not high, and quite a distance away from the 5.5 percent growth target we raised at the year\u2019s start, but this is what we must do judging from reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Investment banks such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JP Morgan have recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/ubs-jpmorgan-slash-china-2022-growth-projections-over-regimes-zero-covid-policy_4488507.html\">cut<\/a> their China GDP forecasts due to the crushing effects of the regime\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-zero-covid\">zero-COVID<\/a>\u201d policies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnexpected\u201d factors since March, such as COVID-19 outbreaks and the Ukraine war have dragged down the economy, Li said, adding that it would take \u201cconsiderable effort\u201d to reverse the current economic trajectory. April\u2019s government revenue, after taking into account the tax refunds, has dropped by 5.9 percent, while the income for some local governments in the eastern coastal area of China plunged by as much as 32 percent, he said. He revealed that several provinces had requested to borrow money from China\u2019s cabinet-like State Council.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are having this meeting today because there\u2019s no time to lose,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Li made the speech two days after hosting a cabinet meeting unveiling 33 measures to ease economic pressure, including stepping up tax refunds, giving loans to small businesses, and extending unemployment insurance assistance.<\/p>\n<p>China\u2019s central bank on May 25 also commenced an \u201cemergency\u201d meeting. It later sent a notice urging national banks to prioritize lending, according to Chinese media reports.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4485075\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/05\/23\/shanghai-lockdown-china-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4485075\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/05\/23\/shanghai-lockdown-china.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2001\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> A man walks in street during a scheduled lockdown break on May 23, 2022, in Shanghai. (Photo by Hu Chengwei\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Beijing\u2019s heavy-handed lockdowns to contain COVID-19 have grounded production in major industrial and commercial centers. Shanghai, after more than two months of stringent COVID-19 restrictions that have largely fenced people into their homes, saw its industrial output nosediving 61.5 percent in April from a year earlier. Factory production across the country has meanwhile sunk to the worst level since the pandemic hit more than two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>At least 26 Chinese cities have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/chinas-unrelenting-lockdowns-likely-to-worsen-us-inflation-analysts_4487444.html\">remained<\/a> in some form of lockdown as of May 23, affecting over 200 million Chinese and more than a fifth of the country\u2019s economic output, according to an estimate by Japanese bank Nomura.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFactories can\u2019t work, commoners can\u2019t live their lives, and transportation can\u2019t function, this \u2018dynamic COVID zero\u2019 is pretty much an economic suicide,\u201d Gu Guoping, a retired professor from the Shanghai University of Engineering Science, told The Epoch Times, referring to the official name for the regime\u2019s zero-tolerance strategy.<\/p>\n<p>While the conference was \u201cunprecedented\u201d in terms of scale, Gu believes it won\u2019t achieve the outcome Li hopes for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis boss has him tied,\u201d he said, referencing Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is seen as spearheading the regime\u2019s COVID-19 policies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4318910\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/03\/05\/china-two-sessions-xi-1200x820.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4318910 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/china-two-sessions-xi.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"2153\" height=\"1471\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4318910 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/china-two-sessions-xi.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"2153\" height=\"1471\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C) prepares to take his seat as he arrives with Premier Li Keqiang at the opening session of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 4, 2022. (Kevin Frayer\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Li, for the better part of the last decade, has long kept a low profile. But his remarks in recent months have appeared to carry a divergent sentiment from Xi.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the continuing outbreak in Beijing, Li didn\u2019t wear a mask in the conference room, which sat dozens of people. He also made no mention of the regime\u2019s zero-COVID policy that Xi has touted.<\/p>\n<p>For Xi to allow Li to convene the meeting on May 25 is indicative of how grave China\u2019s economic problem is, according to Feng Chongyi, a China studies professor at the University of Technology Sydney.<\/p>\n<p>But Li is walking a tightrope right now, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Li Keqing indeed succeeds, the credit will still go to Xi Jinping, who is the supreme leader,\u201d he told The Epoch Times. But if Li \u201ccan\u2019t salvage the Chinese economy,\u201d he will have to \u201cshare the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Luo Ya contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-eva-fu\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/15f130a8712a9ef5_ttl7dayQgw_WEB_EvaFu.jpg\" alt=\"Eva Fu\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"names\">\n<p>China Reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bio\">Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:eva.fu@epochtimes.com\">eva.fu@epochtimes.com<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on May 25 presided over a meeting of over 100,000 officials to issue a stark warning about the \u201cgrim challenges\u201d ahead for the country\u2019s economy, which<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1494524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1494524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1494524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1494524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1494524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}