Economy

Vincent Martin, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) representative in China and North Korea, shares his thoughts on the Chinese government’s efforts to limit the impact of Covid-19 on agriculture and food security in China. He remains sanguine that the country has enough wind in its sails to see it through this tough period and embark firmly on new beginnings.

After this battle with the Covid-19 coronavirus, each ASEAN country should step up its emergency preparedness and national resilience capacities in dealing with similar pandemics. But health concerns aside, the outbreak also highlights the region’s high reliance on China in economics and trade. As global supply chains realign in the wake of the crisis, Southeast Asian countries should implement bold domestic reforms and vigorously develop their manufacturing sectors to be in the best position to reap the benefits.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises assets account for 77% of the total assets of Chinese enterprises, while their annual revenue contributes 68% of the total amount of annual revenue of Chinese enterprises. Chen Jing, Lianhe Zaobao’s Shanghai correspondent reports that as the coronavirus outbreak in China eases off, SMEs in China are doing their level best to get their businesses up and running again. But the way forward looks to be all uphill.

Cai Enze analyses the anticipated gains of American private equity investment company Blackstone taking Chinese property developer SOHO China private. ThinkChina also takes a look at SOHO, and the high-profile couple behind it.

From the global industrial chain to the Belt and Road Initiative, China's interactions with the world is markedly changing due to the Covid-19 outbreak. East Asian Institute’s senior research fellow Yu Hong says that as the impacts of globalisation are magnified during the pandemic, the world will be reconsidering the consequences of its over-reliance on and deeply entrenched links with China. But are alternatives available?

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought China’s economy to a low point. Economic forecasts for the quarter and the whole year have been revised downward, and the continued spread of the coronavirus across the world will not help the situation. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing speaks to the experts on what to expect in the next few months.

US-based academic Hu Hao warns that the US needs to diversify its supply chains and revive its manufacturing industry, particularly in the medical sector, if it does not wish to let its major competitor China have undue leverage during times of emergency and beyond.

Chinese financial commentator Tan Haojun adopts a positive and determined view when he says while the coronavirus situation has affected China’s economic development and role in global supply chains, this is short-term — much like recovering from the common cold. All things considered, China is already recovering at a breakneck pace and predictions that decoupling from China will hasten are much exaggerated.

Professor Andrew Delios shares the possible outcomes of the BRI, from fulfilling strategic objectives to the Red Scare Scenario. To find out which is the most likely, he says we must first consider if the BRI is just a series of road, rail and ocean linkages across nations. And what is the point of a route of transportation, without a destination? He finds the answers in China's economic zones.