Just as the Russia-Ukraine war affects the world’s food and energy supply, China’s zero-COVID policy under the raging Omicron variant further threatens the global supply chain.
Chinese officials announced that as of March 15, Omicron has spread to 28 provinces in China, and at least 385 cities have reported confirmed cases.
Consequently, many cities are locked down or semi-closed to comply with the zero-COVID policy.
Dongguan, an important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, in the coastal province of Guangdong, adopted a 7-day lockdown on March 14. Factories, enterprises and industrial parks are restricted from business activities and cargo transport. Public transportation is suspended, non-essential traffic is banned, and unnecessary traveling out of the city is prohibited.
A Dongguan textile company owner Mr. Wang told The Epoch Times that the lockdown has caused the complete disruption of production logistics, “Even express delivery is halted, it’s all interrupted,” he said.
“We can only try not to take orders and wait for the epidemic to subside,” said Ms. Peng, owner of a hardware and mold accessories company in Dongguan.
