SHANGHAI- The Chinese government has planned to relax and remove many of the Covid-19 lockdown policies on Shanghai’s business district, starting Wednesday.
The city’s business center has been under national lockdown for about two months now, which has hit the national economy hard.
Shanghai is home to 25 million people, making it the nation’s largest city. The lockdowns have forced many of its residents into poverty and economic problems. Alongside this the lack of business activity has caused a plethora of issues for manufacturers.
The capital city of Beijing plans to reopen parts of its public transportation system alongside shopping malls and venues as covid cases go down across the city. These decisions follow a public announcement by the government in Shanghai which showed that daily infections had fallen dramatically over night.
As a result many of the “unreasonable restrictions” will be lifted when it comes to work and production, the city’s vice mayor Wu Qing told reporters. Starting in June Chinese manufacturers will not need to be a on a “whitelist” in order to work.
This announcement came amidst a presentation for the city’s new 50-point plan, which aims at re-awakening the now stagnant Shanghai economy.
Among the points on this list are speeding up the approval of building projects and giving a $1,500 subsidy to drivers who switch to electric cars.
Businesses will also be allowed to delay their rent payments and will be subsidized for utility costs. Banks will be made to renew loans taken out by small businesses as well.
When the government authorized a national lockdown on China’s cities earlier this year, the entire city economy came to a screeching halt, causing issues not just in China but overseas in China’s partners.
Vouchers will be handed out to retailers and e-commerce websites as a means of subsidizing their work.
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