The number of Covid-19 cases in Guangzhou and many other significant Chinese cities sharply increased, according to the recently released official data. Guangzhou, an international manufacturing hub, is currently dealing with its worst outbreak and putting its capacity to prevent a Shanghai-style citywide lockdown to the test.

As per China's health administration, there were 7,475 new locally transmitted cases in the country, which climbed up from 5,496 last week and has now reached the highest number since May 1.

Although the increase was small by international standards, it was important for China since there, outbreaks are swiftly dealt with when they appear.

Beijing, the capital of China, and other economically significant cities have reacted swiftly to the spread of illnesses by ordering additional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing for inhabitants and, in some cases, isolating entire neighborhoods or even districts.

It has been reported that the sudden upturn will put China's ability to manage its Covid-19 restrictions to the test and dispel investor hopes that the 2nd largest economy in the world could soon open its borders or even scale back on its zero-tolerance policy.

Nie Wen, an economist from Hwabao Trust, stated that he has reduced his fourth-quarter economic growth prediction from 4-4.5% to roughly 3.5% in light of how the widespread Covid-19 limits are hammering domestic spending. From July to September, the economy expanded by 3.9%.

This week, the increasing case burden weighed on China's stock markets, but shares have not yet given up their significant gains from the previous week.

As a global downturn looms, investors view China's battered markets as an alluring opportunity and have concentrated on minor signs of incremental improvements, such as more targeted lockdowns and advancements in vaccination rates.

As per reports, in comparison to Guangzhou and Zhengzhou, Beijing experienced a slight increase in local infections. However, the detection of 64 new cases prompted the authorities to lock down further buildings and neighborhoods.

Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/guangzhou-s-covid-19-outbreak-deepens-as-more-lockdowns-loom-in-china