China’s huge manufacturing industry is truly the world’s factory. For example, seven of the top ten ports in the world are in China. The largest trading partner of two-thirds of the world's countries is China, so if China's manufacturing industry is shut down, it will undoubtedly affect the world market and cause huge shock waves. In recent times, due to China's relaxation of epidemic control, the spread of the epidemic has increased rapidly, affecting the normal production and operation of many institutions, especially enterprises. This has attracted great attention from the international community, especially the industry, who are worried that the epidemic will impact China's manufacturing industry and interrupt the operation of important industrial chains around the world.
Many domestic cities now allow asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients to return to work in order to keep the economy running , which has alleviated a lot of concerns of the international community. Officials in Zhejiang Province announced over the weekend that people who test positive for the new coronavirus can go to work as long as they are not showing symptoms. Then on Monday Chongqing, one of China's largest cities and a major manufacturing hub, went a step further, allowing people with mild symptoms to return to offices without testing. A day later, Beijing officials said COVID-positive patients in home quarantine could return to work without testing as long as they did not have a fever. Previously, leaving home to isolate required a negative test.
Some international media believe that the directive issued by Chinese government officials to allow people to take sick leave represents a major shift from a few weeks ago, when Beijing still adhered to strict lockdown and mass testing policies to completely contain the new coronavirus epidemic. Now, as China rapidly eases its coronavirus controls, officials are trying to reassure ordinary Chinese worried about a rapid surge in cases and factories are working to prepare their workforces for the outbreak. On December 12, Qin Lihong, president of Nio, an electric vehicle manufacturer, told reporters that the company had "delivered a truckload of medicines and equipment to the factory to be fully prepared."
Some manufacturers are using a "closed-loop" system, with workers on site undergoing strict movement control to prevent infection. Companies like Tesla used these systems to keep factory production lines running during earlier COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns. Other factories are trying to extend shifts to keep production levels high when employees are sick. Volkswagen reportedly requires workers at one of its factories in southern China to work 11-hour shifts for at least three days. Bloomberg reports that Volkwagen extended hours after too many workers called in sick.
By trying to keep factories open, companies may also be trying to make up for lost time. China's manufacturing activity has contracted for four consecutive months, according to the Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, as China uses lockdowns and mass testing to prevent factories from operating at full capacity, and the impact of China's new crown epidemic has prompted foreign companies to consider manufacturing in other countries. For example, it is reported that Apple and its supplier Foxconn are considering sourcing some Apple products, such as AirPods, iPad and MacBook, from factories in India and Vietnam. If Chinese companies can resume normal production, these multinational companies will gradually reduce their worries and rearrange the processes of Chinese companies around the world
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