China’s Covid policy locks down a city three times the size of New York

China’s Covid policy locks down a city three times the size of New York


The Huangpu River splits the Chinese city of Shanghai between the older settlement on the west and the newer, financial center on the east.

Johannes Eisele | Afp | Getty Images

China’s latest wave of Covid restrictions has forced millions of people — roughly three times as many as live in New York City — to stay home and undergo mass virus testing in the metropolis of Shanghai.

As Covid cases began to spike in late February, Shanghai tried to control the outbreak with targeted, neighborhood lockdowns. But the city, a center for global transport, manufacturing, finance and trade, decided in late March to implement a two-stage lockdown that soon applied to all districts, generally forcing people not to leave their apartments.

Most people outside China know that Shanghai is big, but few realize just how big economically. The following numbers indicate the scale of Shanghai as an economic center — and may hint at the cost of the lockdown.

Size

GDP

Global trade center

Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River, one of the two main rivers in China.

According to Bernstein:

  • Shanghai is home to the world’s busiest port, followed by Singapore.
  • Shanghai’s Pudong airport is the world’s third-busiest cargo airport, behind Memphis, Tennessee, and Hong Kong.

In all, Shanghai accounted for 7.3% of China’s exports and 14.4% of imports in 2021, according to Citi.

Manufacturing and corporate center

According to Citi, Shanghai is China’s:

  • Most important semiconductor manufacturing center, home to SMIC, Hua Hong and Universal Scientific Industrial.
  • Home to many auto producers: SAIC Motor, SAIC’s joint companies with Volkswagen and GM, Nio, Tesla and Ford.
  • Headquarters or a major center for multinational corporations’ China operations: Apple, L’Oreal, Samsung Electronics, P&G, L’Oreal, LVMH, Nike, Panasonic, Philips, Johnson & Johnson and General Electric, among others.
  • Base for ship producers: Jiangnan , Zhonghua and Waigaoqiao shipbuilding.

Finance

Consumer hub

In Shanghai, official figures for 2021 show:

  • Average disposable income of 78,027 yuan ($12,288) — more than double the nationwide average of 35,128 yuan ($5,531).
  • Average consumer spending of 48,879 yuan — also double the national average of 24,100 yuan.

U.S. wholesale chain Costco chose Shanghai for its first mainland China store in 2019.

And as of last year, Shanghai was home to the most coffee shops in the country, with nearly 3 shops per 10,000 people, versus a ratio of about 2 for Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing, according to Meituan.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

Shanghai is home to three of the top 20 universities in China, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The number of foreigners living in Shanghai fell to 163,954 people in 2020, down by 21% versus a decade earlier, according to official censuses. The southern province of Guangdong is now home to the most foreigners in China, at more than 400,000.

The overall number of foreigners in the country rose during those 10 years by about 40% to 1.4 million people — or about 0.1% of China’s population.



Source

The number of ‘tariff’ mentions soar past ‘AI’ on earnings calls as Trump’s trade fight alters outlook
World

The number of ‘tariff’ mentions soar past ‘AI’ on earnings calls as Trump’s trade fight alters outlook

Move over artificial intelligence. There’s a new hot topic on corporate earnings calls in 2025: tariffs. The word “tariffs” has come up on more than 350 earnings calls of S & P 500 -listed companies reporting first quarter results, according to a CNBC analysis of call transcripts compiled by AlphaSense. By contrast, the term “AI” […]

Read More
First Chinese freight ship goods hit with Trump’s 145%-plus tariffs arriving at U.S. ports
World

First Chinese freight ship goods hit with Trump’s 145%-plus tariffs arriving at U.S. ports

Container ships sit docked at the Port of Los Angeles on May 06, 2025 in San Pedro, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images The first shipping containers carrying Chinese products that are subject to President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs have begun arriving in U.S. ports. Seven ships carrying upward of 12,000 […]

Read More
This consumer products stock is rushing to leave China and Wall Street is betting it can pull it off
World

This consumer products stock is rushing to leave China and Wall Street is betting it can pull it off

Wall Street is optimistic SharkNinja will be able to move its sourcing completely out of China. The company, which manufactures appliances such as vacuums and the Ninja Creami ice cream maker, rallied nearly 13% on Thursday following a first-quarter earnings beat. SharkNinja raised its guidance for its fiscal-year earnings, revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA estimates. […]

Read More