The global public relations campaign is meant to build up empathy and support for China’s political system.
The Chinese political system has seen an unprecedented level of centralization thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak and this will be the new normal.
Beijing released the major economic data for the first two months of 2020 this morning after the Federal Reserve cut rates to zero.
A global slowdown causes more troubles for Chinese exporters and forces Beijing to accept lower growth in 2020.
Beijing decided to postpone the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) this afternoon due to the outbreak. We hold the view that it is likely to be held in late March with about two weeks delay, and there is a small chance that it will be delayed into April (See: Expect More Delays to Restoring Business). The healthcare system would certainly be a top priority for discussion at this year’s NPC annual meeting.
Chinese government is putting more focus on restoring business operations, but the policy responses still fall short of expectations. The impact is going to be increasingly felt in the rest of Asia, and this time, countries will need to come up with their own measures to support the economy rather than waiting for Beijing to bail them out.