China's reopening is one of the most watched global economic events of 2023, as it will set the tone for global recovery in the coming months
After three years, the 15-day spring festival—which started with Lunar New Year celebrations on January 22—is being celebrated without draconian Covid-19 restrictions in China, as the government ‘reopened’ the economy Image: VCG via Getty Images
China hopes to take a great leap forward in the Year of the Rabbit. After three years, the 15-day spring festival—which started with Lunar New Year celebrations on January 22—is being celebrated without draconian Covid-19 restrictions in China, as the government ‘reopened’ the economy with pro-growth policies for rapid growth.
Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at Julius Baer, a private banking corporation, says one of the most unexpected aspects of China’s reopening is the removal of harsh border controls. Over 2 billion people are expected to travel during the festive season.
“We can already see Chinese tourists here in Singapore, for the first time in three years. Around a million Chinese citizens have applied for permits to travel to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan during the Lunar New Year. It will be interesting to see how they and their hosts interact with each other,” Matthews adds.
Sunil Tirumalai, executive director and equity strategist at UBS India, points out the dichotomy of China’s reopening for its domestic economy as many companies are still seeing operations disrupted by Covid. “The upcoming spring festival means different things to different businesses, often in unexpected ways. For instance, logistics companies could be rejecting delivery orders due to a surge in wages of delivery personnel, while some manufacturing firms are likely to work overtime to fulfil order backlogs,” he says.