As I have talked about in previous blog posts, the Chinese government is doing their best to control the narrative around the coronavirus in their country. They are attempting to do it yet again in regards to their economy, but it is not working so well, according to this report from the Associated Press. After visiting Wuhan in March Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the coronavirus situation in China under control and allowed factories and some shops to reopen in order to try to stimulate the Chinese economy that has taken major hits just the same as most of the economies throughout the world. In theory, opening the factories and shops would definitely reignite the economy. However, the Chinese people are extremely wary about even leaving their houses based on what has happened over the last few months. “Data due out Friday is expected to show the economy contracted by up to 9% in January-March, its worst performance since the late 1970s.”. Again, there is no surprise there as most of the world’s economies are suffering. However, the surprising aspect of this story to me is the fact that the Chinese people do not seem to want to go back out even though some shops have been opened. I think this sentiment is wildly different to the way many Americans are feeling at this point in time. I think given the opportunity, most Americans would be straight back out into the shops if they were to open back up today. However, the Chinese people are still very wary to going back out into the opened shops. I think this is a classic example of the Chinese culture of discipline, and many Americans simply do not have that kind of discipline to make sure those around them are able to stay healthy and safe.
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