The world’s second-largest economy, China, must make a decision on whether parts of the economy should open in exchange for avoiding an unrest that might just get out of hand, because of its importance to the global value chain.
This opinion was stated by Ugo Obi-Chukwu, Founder of Nairametrics at the platform’s weekly OnTheMoney series on Clubhouse.
He added that the covid won’t suddenly go away and that the world should learn to handle it until it slowly dissipates.
What Mr Obi-Chukwu is saying
He stated that most western countries basically dropped all the restrictions that had inhibited growth, and resorted to living with the pandemic.
He said, “I think the obvious answer is that the world is suffering from covid-19 fatigue
“Bear in mind that vaccinations have also increased, and continue to increase on a daily basis. The thinking now is that we have got to find a way to live through this vaccine, as the costs of keeping people in, obviously outweigh the costs of limiting movement.
“This is what we are seeing, even in some parts of Asia, and in Africa.”
He revealed that what is happening in China now seems like an isolated case, looking like a government trying to stifle its citizens and people are becoming frustrated and tired.
“At some point, China will have to come to a critical decision whether they want to open parts of the economy in exchange for avoiding an unrest that might just get out of hand.
“China is also very important to global economy. If shutdowns continue to linger, there will be a spiral effect on the global economy, particularly Nigeria, where we rely on China for some of our imports.
“You do want to see them get past this as early as possible. World Bank expects China’s GDP to be slightly 1% lower this year because of the lockdown.”
He added that the disease will not suddenly disappear, but dissipate slowly, which are conditions for global economies to learn to live with covid.
What you should know
- Reports emerged early this morning that oil prices moved lower behind $100 a barrel due to concerns that a spreading Covid-19 outbreak in China will impact global demand.
- Bloomberg reported that China’s demand for gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel in April is expected to slide 20% from a year earlier, according to people with inside knowledge of China’s energy industry.
