Good news? China gets back to work -- sort of -- as number of new COVID-19 cases wanes

[Roland99]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-gets-back-to-work-sort-of-as-number-of-new-covid-19-cases-wanes-2020-02-28

Signs of life are emerging in China’s coronavirus-stricken economy — even as the epidemic is exploding around the world.

A number of key metrics of economic health have ticked up in the last week or two. Workers are returning, factories are firing back up, and even consumer-facing businesses are opening their doors.

...

First, the caveats: The resumption in activity has been slow, though steady. And China’s economy could take a second-round beating if the virus flares up again locally. But, for now, undeniable signs of activity are springing up.

Over 43% of small and midsize enterprises in China’s manufacturing sector had resumed production as of Wednesday, Zhang Kejian, deputy minister of industry and information technology, told state media. This is crucial for these smaller firms, as many said in a recent survey that they could survive for only one to two months on their savings.

Hopefully this doesn’t cause an increase of cases as people start interacting more

[OnDoutside]

1. The problem is we don't know how truthful the Chinese are being.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. How reliable is that information?

I don't trust news from China any more than I trust news from Trump.

[dewsgirl]

3. Bad news, they have been lying about their numbers for

weeks now.

[bullwinkle428]

4. Yeah, I totally trust Xi to release every bit of truthful information.

[jimfields33]

5. Hope this is true

Always cautious with China though.

[global1]

6. If They Truly Are Recovering And Getting Back From This Crisis One Has To Look At The Measures.....

they took to quell the virus.

They essentially shut down a city. They prohibited people from leaving their homes. They took extreme measures to tamp down most all human contact activity.

I don't envision Trump taking such extreme measures - and I believe we and he will pay for his incompetence.

[RockRaven]

7. The CCP has lost their appetite for the economic costs of shutting everything down, and

doubly so now that containment/elimination seems to be off the menu of possible outcomes.

Local and regional officials will report what their bosses want to hear, a common feature of single-party authoritarian states (happened in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, happened in USSR, happens in DPRK).