Amid growing outbreak, China's zero-Covid stance looks unsustainable

THESE are difficult times for China as the world's second-largest economy soldiers on with its zero-Covid strategy in what looks like an increasingly futile effort to stamp out the virus completely.

Two of the country's most important cities - the capital Beijing and the financial hub Shanghai - are on high alert as officials struggle to contain a growing outbreak of the virus that is impacting almost everything from supply chains to logistics and manufacturing output.

There are concerns too that with many other countries taking big steps to reopen their economies and accepting Covid-19 as endemic, China could see its competitiveness and attractiveness take an even bigger hit the longer the restrictions drag on. Already, the uncertainty has spooked the markets, with Chinese stocks experiencing the biggest sell-off since February 2020 in the early days of the pandemic.