Public Opinion: The Six Huge Costs of the Three-Year Zero-COVID Policy

Lao Man (老蛮), an individual commentator in China, known for his writing on China’s economy, posted an article to list six prices that China paid for adopting the “zero-COVID” policy for the past three years:

1. The fiscal deficit increased by 60 percent in those three years.
2. The collapse of municipal investment companies (these companies are set up by local governments as a vehicle to raise money to finance government spending, usually using land which the government owns as collateral).
3. The collapse of the government’s credibility.
4. The collapse of the birth rate.
5. The withdrawal (departing from China) of foreign companies.
6. The general public’s decision not to take out loans to finance their purchases after they lost hope in the future.

Source: China News Digest, May 8, 2023
http://hx.cnd.org/2023/05/08/老蛮：清零三年的六个巨大代价/